Stranger in a Strange land
by EclipsedbytheSon
Summary: (borrowed the title from Hienlien) Please R&R Duo is sent to live with a foster family on Earth. Pairing: eventual 2xOC, past 2xH. Rating may change in later chapters.
1. Chapter one: The Order

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, but I do own my Original Characters and my plot. 

A/N A couple of things….First of all, I'm on winter break till the end of January, so I hope to finish this story, plus the stories I have up for Ninja Turtles and X-Men Evolution (or at least make head way in them), so look often for updates for all of them (that means you Lomesir!)  
Secondly, this story starts in late August of AC 197. It's told from Duo's point of view. (I'm sorry if it's a little ooc at points, I try really hard to stick to the character's personalities)  
Thirdly, I'm not entirely sure where this story is going. If you have any suggestions, just let me know!

Pairing: eventual 2xOC, past 2xH

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_**Chapter One: The Order**_

I glanced up at the clock on the wall. I had been waiting for over an hour, sitting there on that hard wooden bench, waiting for the verdict that would be my future.

I could hear voices on the other side of the door. I couldn't make out what was being said, only who was speaking. Sally Po spoke, then the social worker would answer, then the psychologist, then Lady Une, then the psychologist again, then the social worker again. Around and around the conversation went, back and forth, questions and answers, and arguments and rebuttals. Just thinking about it made me dizzy. The conversation was about me, but they didn't consult me. They hadn't consulted me throughout the whole process. Now, here they were, deciding my fate, and I had no say in it. Story of my life, I guess.

I was just about to get up and look for a drinking fountain when the door opened, and Sally stepped out. "Duo, do you mind coming in and joining us?" she asked. I could see the other adults in the room beyond her, all exchanging looks that I couldn't read. I could read the look on Sally's face though, and I knew that what had been decided would not make me happy.

"Sure thing," I said, standing up and following her into the office. I closed the door behind me without being asked. I had to act responsible and mature for my age. If I did, maybe they would change their minds.

The social worker, Miss Renée, sat behind her desk smiling at me. My file was spread out in front of her. It looked as though she had been pouring over it since the meeting began. A note pad sat beside it, filled with her neat cursive script. "Duo," she said graciously. "Please sit down. Thank you for being so patient with us. We had a lot to discuss."

I briefly returned her smile, trying to hide how anxious I was to hear the decision they had made. Once I was seated in the chair across the desk from her, Miss Renée continued. "I would like to start off by saying, Duo, that out of all the children I have worked with, you have grown on me the most. You're intelligent, funny, and optimistic; I wish all of my cases were like you. Sadly, children these days just don't seem to be as happy as they once were."

I winced slightly every time she called me a child. Hell, I was sixteen for God sakes! And I had fought in the war. There was no way in hell I could possibly still be considered a child. But I fought the urge to say anything, and sat in polite silence listening to her.

Miss Renée paused, took a deep breath, and went on. "When I look over your records Duo, I cannot understand how you could be as optimistic as you are. The tragedies you faced before the age of ten alone would have caused most children to suffer from depression and pessimism. And your experiences in the war, well, I know personally many people twice your age that come back from the battlefield disillusioned and bitter. I commend you on your ability to stay strong throughout your difficulties."

I smiled, half in thanks to the compliment, half because if she knew how hard Heero had punched me a few times, she would have used a stronger word than 'difficulties'. A much stronger word.

"Duo." It was Lady Une's turn to speak. I turned my head to her, trying to hide my scowl. She was the whole reason I was there. "You are a very strong person. I have known that since I first met you. And while I would be glad to have a person like yourself working with the Preventers, I don't think you yourself are ready for such a job. I think it would be much healthier for you if you took time to learn what it is to be a real child, and not just an orphan and soldier."

I frowned. "Well, what about Heero? He's more in the mind set of a soldier than I am, and he's an orphan too."

Lady Une returned my frown. "Sadly, yes, that is true. However, we have information that indicates that while Heero was a young boy, he did have an adult acting as a parental figure for him. He has had an influence of family in his life. You haven't. In fact, out of all the pilots, you are the one who has had the least exposure to a family environment. Quatre and WuFei both grew up in families, and Trowa had parental figures in his past, as well as the family he seems to have adopted at the circus. Relena is slowly taming Heero. You, however, you never had any one—except Farther Maxwell and Sister Helen for a few months at the Maxwell Church—and you have no one now."

I openly scowled at her. I knew she meant well, but she was brushing Father Maxwell and Sister Helen off like they were nothing. I sighed after a moment. "Okay, just put it down plain for me. You don't want me to work for the Preventers, fine…but you guys have something else up your sleeves. I can tell."

The adults were quiet for a moment, and the then psychologist, Dr. Thomas, spoke up. "Duo, in the light of recent events, I think outer space is the last place you should be. You need to have a change of scenery and a chance at a different lifestyle. I have come to the conclusion that it would be most conducive to your development for you to be exposed to a family environment…away from the colonies."

I didn't understand. I looked up at Sally, hoping for a clearer explanation. Sally opened her mouth to speak, but Miss Renée spoke first. "We have decided that you will be going to Earth to live with a foster family, Duo. We already have a family decided on that we think will be best for you…"

She kept talking, but my brain was still stuck on her first sentence. "…going to Earth to live with a foster family…" Earth? They were sending me to EARTH?? To live with a foster family? I felt my body go numb. No. I didn't want to go. All my friends were here in the colonies. All my memories, all the things that made me _me_…it was all here in colonies. What were they thinking sending me to Earth?

"Duo, I know how difficult this is for you to understand," Miss Renée said when she saw the look of shock and horror on my face.

"No, I don't think you do," I growled, standing up. As far as I was concerned, the meeting was over. I knew no matter what I said to them, their minds were made up. There was no point in me staying. "You're shipping me off to Earth to get me and my 'no family influence' past out of your hair. Fine, have it your way. It's not like I had any plans for the rest of my life." I turned and headed to the door.

"Duo!" Sally grabbed my arm, and I pulled away. "DUO!" But I was already gone.

I charged down the hall of the office building, my eyesight blurred with tears. I had to get out of that building; I had to get back to the scrap yard, back to my familiar junk. I bolted past the security guards, out the revolving doors, and down the street. I ran blindly, shedding hot tears, not really caring where I was going, just wanting to get away from reality.

I knew I would be going to earth whether I wanted to or not. I was a minor, and as an orphan I was technically a ward of the government until I was eighteen. But I thought that maybe after being a Gundam pilot, they would have let me alone to live my life and to deal with the things of life I had missed by myself. Of course I wouldn't be that lucky, though. Even the God of Death's luck ran out eventually. Even the God of Death wasn't invincible.

Eventually I slowed as my legs began to get weak, and my lungs were burning for oxygen. Looking around, I found myself across the street from the park in my neighbor hood. I crossed the street into the park and sat down on a bench.

I tried to take in the sights as best I could to log them into my memory, but as I sat there, I found myself almost looking forward to going to Earth. The grass on Earth was a lot greener because it got real sunlight. And the trees were taller on earth. And when you looked up at the sky, you saw clouds instead of more colony. And on Earth, I wouldn't be reminded of Hilde wherever I went. I would be able to think of other things.

I sighed and leaned back on the bench. "Okay Earth, you get another shot at making friends with me. Maybe it'll work a little better this time, eh?"


	2. Chapter Two: Goodbyes and Hellos

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, but I do own my Original Characters and my plot.

Pairing: eventual 2xOC, past 2xH

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_**Chapter Two: Goodbyes and Hellos**_

A week later, I found myself standing at the space shuttle terminal, my backpack on my back and a duffel bag in my hand. My usual black outfit had been replaced with jeans, a red t-shirt, and a denim jacket. Instead of my boots, I wore a pair of sneakers—the same sneakers I had worn that day when Heero and I had played basketball in PE at that boarding school.

"You look good, Duo," Sally assured me as she fussed with the collar of my jacket. "More friendly without all that black on."

I rolled my eyes. "I wish I could just wear my normal clothes."

"You can when you get settled on Earth. This is just so that you won't make people nervous on the shuttle." She glanced at her watch. "Speaking of nervous, you need to board the shuttle in twenty minutes. Are you sure they're coming?"

"They'll be here," I told her. "Quatre said they would be. They wouldn't just let me move to Earth without saying goodbye first."

"No, I suppose not."

She sat down on a near by bench, but I stayed standing up, looking down the hall for my friends. They had to come. They just had to. The minutes ticked by. I began to get nervous. Maybe they had forgotten. No, they wouldn't do that—Heero wouldn't have let them. Maybe they had gotten into an accident. Or, if Quatre was driving, maybe they were still puttering along the streets at exactly the speed limit.

When an announcement came on saying, "Boarding for flight 4568, Shuttle to Earth, at Gate C8 will begin in ten minutes," I sent Sally a slightly frantic look. Where were they??

Sally just shrugged and shook her head, saying that she had no idea. I groaned and turned my attention once again down the hall. A moment later, I saw what I was looking for: Heero, Trowa, Quatre, and WuFei were all hurrying down the hall towards me. Trowa had his backpack with him.

"DUO!" Quatre cried and picked up speed. The others followed suit. "Sorry we're so late. Traffic was bad and then there was a detour—"

"It's okay," I assured him, grinning. "I'm just glad you guys got here before I left. I was worried I would have to do the goodbyes over the phone."

"We wouldn't allow that," WuFei replied. "You deserve face-to-face farewells."

I smiled at that, glad to know that WuFei thought so highly of me.

"Did you remember everything?" Heero asked. The perfect soldier, of course, had to make sure every detail had been taken care of.

"Yeah. Sally and I went though the house twice. Everything I need and want is in these bags."

"Well, not everything," Trowa said with a slight smirk.

I sent him a questioning look, and in response, he opened his backpack. They each reached in and pulled out a wrapped package. They all exchanged looks as though asking each other "Who's first?". WuFei sighed and handed me his present.

I opened it, and inside I found a book. It was called "1,000 Things to See in North America." WuFei gave me a funny half smile, a rarity from him. "I thought that your stay on Earth would be a good chance for you to expand your knowledge. I looked through the book and I found some nature parks I wouldn't mind visiting myself. I've marked them, and I'm expecting pictures."

I smiled. Opening the book, I noted he had also marked a few amusement parks as places that I was expected to visit. "Thanks WuFei. I'll try to visit as many of these as I can."

Trowa gave me his present next. It was a wooden box, ten inches by six inches by about two and a half inches. It had pieces of carved wood in the shape of starbursts, moons, and planets attached to it. It was a really cool box, but when I tried to open it, the lid wouldn't lift up. "It's a puzzle box," Trowa explained. "There's a trick to opening it. You'll have to figure out the trick to see what's inside."

I grinned at him. "No problem. I'll have it figured out before we enter the atmosphere."

Trowa didn't say anything. He just stared at me with that blank face of his that gave nothing away.

Quatre's present was a photo album filled with pictures of all of us and our friends hanging out and having fun together. There were even pictures of me with Deathscythe and the other pilots with their gundams. I recognized a lot of the pictures as WuFei's handiwork. He didn't seem like it, but he could be artsy when he wanted to be.

Finally, Heero gave me his present. I unwrapped it, and my eyes just about popped out of their sockets.

"A self detonation switch?" I cried. "Is this some kind of joke, Heero?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "It's no joke."

I looked down at the detonation switch in my hand. It was identical to the ones used in the gundams. "Then what's it for?"

"When you don't think you can take it any more, connect the two wires at the end and then press the button," Heero explained. "The device will take it from there."

"What do you mean 'when I can't take it anymore'?" I asked him.

"You'll know when the time comes." Gods, sometimes Heero could be too cryptic for his own good.

"Boarding for flight 4568, Shuttle to Earth, at Gate C8 will begin in two minutes," a voice announced over the com system.

"Whoops, that's me," I said, as I quickly but gently placed my presents into my backpack. When I was done, I swung my backpack over my shoulder and looking at them all, took a deep breath. "I guess this is it." My throat was suddenly thick and it kind of hurt to talk. I tried to put on a big grin to make it seem like I wasn't worried about leaving them, but it didn't work.

Quatre smiled and we embraced. "It'll be okay Duo. I'll miss you, but we'll see each other again."

"We'd better," I told him as we let go and Trowa stepped up. He too gave me a hug. "Have a good flight Duo. Contact us when you can."

WuFei bowed to me. "It was an honor learning your own…special…brand of justice, Duo." I nodded and returned the bow. Then I reached out and pulled him into a hug. "I'll miss you too, WuFei," I said, laughing when he awkwardly patted me on the back.

I let WuFei go and turned to Heero. "Well buddy, looks like you're finally getting rid of me."

"I never wanted to get rid of you, Duo. I just preferred to work alone."

"Well, then you finally can," I said, fighting hard to hold back tears. I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to go away and leave them all behind.

"Boarding for flight 4568, Shuttle to Earth, at Gate C8 is now beginning."

"Duo!" Sally called over. "You need to board."

I nodded, but didn't turn my eyes from Heero. He was my best friend, and I wasn't sure how I'd be able to survive without his cool reasoning to balance out my wild personality.

"You'd better come visit," I told him. "You'd all better come visit. Show those boring Earthlings how we do things in the colonies."

Heero nodded. "Rodger."

"Yeah," I said with a sigh. I picked up my duffel bag. "See you guys later. I'll contact you when I get there."

"Bye!" Quatre, Trowa and WuFei all called. Heero didn't say anything. He just nodded and watched me as I turned and walked over to the gate with Sally.

"Duo Maxwell," Sally told the person checking boarding passes. He nodded, tore my ticket and smiled at me. "Enjoy your trip, Mr. Maxwell."

"Thanks," I said, taking my ticket back.

"You all set?" Sally asked me. "You've got your bags, and you have money. Mr. and Mrs. Christopher will be waiting for you when you get off the shuttle."

"Okay," I said with a nod. She was treating me like I was five, but at that moment, I didn't really care.

"Don't worry Duo, everything will be fine. Just remember, this is probably what's best for you. And don't worry--guys and I will stay in touch." She adjusted my denim jacket collar one more time. "If you need anything, just let me know, okay?"

"Okay."

"Then I guess that's everything. Bye, Duo. Have a safe flight," she said, giving me a brief hug.

I turned and walked to the doorway to the shuttle. Before I went through I turned around and got one last look at the others. Quatre was waving at me. WuFei and Trowa noddedto me. Heero just watched me. I could have sworn he looked about ready to cry. I waved to them all, and then forced myself to turn and board the shuttle before I could change my mind.

I found my seat, pushed my duffel bag into the overhead compartment and sat down with my backpack between my feet. Finally on the shuttle and out of sight of my friends, I let my tears escape my eyes. This wasn't fair! I didn't want to leave the colony. I didn't want to leave my friends. Saying good-bye to people was one of the hardest things for me to do. I just had a hard time letting go of people. Unlike Heero—he hadn't even given me a hug goodbye.

An older woman sat down in the seat next to me, and I hurriedly wiped the tears from my face. The last thing I needed was for some stranger asking what was wrong.

She smiled at me. "Hello. Is this your first time to Earth?"

I shook my head. "I've been there before," I told her.

"Well, that's nice," she said as she buckled herself into her seat. "You must live on this colony then?"

"Not anymore. I'm moving to Earth."

"Oh, how wonderful!" the woman cried. "It's a beautiful place. The colonies are nice, but I think you'll like Earth just as much, if not more."

I gave her a halfhearted smile, then turned my head to the window.

Once the shuttle had taken off, I reached into my backpack and pulled out a plain white envelope. Reaching in, I pulled out the letter and the photo it contained. Unfolding the letter for probably the fiftieth time, I read if for probably the hundredth time.

_Dear Duo,  
__My name is Diana Christopher, and my husband Jon and I are going to be your foster parents here on Earth. Miss Renée suggested that I write to you and tell you a little about us so that you would sort of know us before you got here.  
__ I am a French teacher at Nova Junior High School, which is a school in the next town over. I like to bake and cook, and I'll have plenty of goodies ready for you when you arrive. Jon is a machinist. He runs large machines that make parts for airplanes and things like that. We've been married for seven years. We don't have any children, but we do have Benny, our Labrador retriever. He's only a few years old, so he's still get plenty of energy in him. Miss Renée told us you've never had a pet before, so if you're interested, you can help out with taking car of Benny. He likes young people, and I'm sure you two will get along fine.  
__I look forward to meeting you Duo. From everything I have been told about you, I get the feeling that you're a very nice boy and you will make a great addition to our household. I know it will be difficult for you to leave your home in the colony and come live with us Duo, but Jon and I want you to know that we want to help you with the transition. We're going to be a family, and you can come to us about anything. Please know that we're here to talk to if you have any problems.  
__I can't wait to meet you! I'll see you on the 7th!  
__Sincerely, with care,  
__Diana E Christopher_

After reading the letter, I looked at the photo that had come with it. It was a picture of Diana and Jon sitting on their porch steps with Benny sitting on a lower step. Diana had brown hair and glasses. Jon was a big man with black hair and a black beard. He looked like he had played football in college. They both looked pretty young, no older than thirty. Jon's arms were around Diana, and they both were smiling at the camera. Benny's tongue was hanging out if his mouth and he looked like he was smiling at the camera too.

I smiled at the picture myself. They looked like nice people, and I guessed that there were worse foster families out there.

"Is that your family?" the woman beside me asked. Then before I could reply, she continued, "You look just like them. Very strong family resemblance."

"You think?" I asked as I looked at the photo.

"Yes. You have her nose and his eyes. And her hair."

"Hn." I looked again at the photo. She was right, I guess. I did sort of look like them. I figured that would help us pass as a family.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to begin our descent through the atmosphere. For your safety, please return your seats to their upright position, stow your tray tables, and put away all carry-on items."

With one last look at the photo, I slid it and the letter back into the envelope and put it into my jacket pocket. I mentally kicked myself for not working on the puzzle box. _Oh well, that just means it'll take me longer to figure it out,_ I thought. _Trowa will be pleased with that._ I grinned at the thought. You could rarely tellwhether Trowa was pleased or pissed about something because he never showed any emotion on his face.

The shuttle landed without much problem, and when the door was opened, most of the passengers jumped up and hurriedly gathered their things, eager to get off the shuttle. I stayed put, staring out the window at the sky. "Wish me luck you guys," I whispered, hoping that Heero, Trowa, Quatre, and WuFei had somehow heard me.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Maxwell?" A stewardess asked me, looking concerned.

I glanced around and realized that everyone else was off the shuttle already. "No," I said with a grin. "I guess I just got lost in my thoughts. Thanks for offering though."

She nodded and moved back up the aisle.

Taking a deep breath to calm the butterflies in my stomach, I stood up, swung my backpack onto my back and got my duffel bag out of the overhead compartment. I was so nervous that I felt like I might faint at any moment. I suppose I looked like I was going to as well because the stewardesses were watching me with worried looks. I smiled to reassure them that I was okay.

_Com'n Duo_, I silently told myself as I made my way down the aisle and out the door. _What's the matter with you? You've been through more battles than you can remember and tougher situations than this. What's meeting foster parents compared to all that? What would the guys say if they saw you now? _

I walked down the steps of the shuttle into the crowd that was below. It was mostly made up of my fellow passengers being greeted by friends and family. I searched the crowd for the friendly, smiling faces from the photo. I didn't see the Christopher's anywhere.

I was starting to get worried, thinking that perhaps they had gotten my arrival time wrong, or the wrong gate. I looked around wildly, feeling like an abandoned little kid. I hadn't really looked forward to being with the Christopher's when I was still in space, but now that I was on Earth, I was desperate to find them.

I reached the other edge of the crowd and looked around, thinking perhaps they had been smart and stayed back form the crowd. And sure enough, they had. I saw them standing off about thirty feet from the crowd. Diana was wearing a skirt and blouse and looked as though she had come straight from her teaching job to get me. Jon was standing beside her with his arm around her waist. They both had anxious smiles on their faces that turned to grins as soon as they saw me.

"DUO!" Diana shouted, waving hopefully at me.

Smiling, I hurried over to them. "Are you guys the Christopher's?" I asked. Then I laughed nervously and answered my own question. "Well, you obviously are, since you look just like the people in my picture."

Diana smiled at me. "Yes, we are the Christopher's, and you must be Duo." She laughed, which was a very welcoming sound. "We didn't recognize you without your usual black clothes on. I'm Diana." She moved awkwardly, as though she wasn't sure if she should hug me or what. Finally, to my relief, she held out her hand to shake mine. I took her had and gave her a firm handshake.

"And I'm Jon," Jon said. His voice was pleasant, and not as deep as I would have expected from someone his size. He had to be over six feet tall, and he was even bigger in real life than what he looked like in the picture. He wasn't fat; he was just BIG. I noted with amusement that he was almost a foot taller than Diana. When I shook his hand, he chuckled. "Good, strong handshake you've got there, Duo," he said. I got the feeling that it was a compliment.

"Do you have any more bags than this?" Jon asked as he took my duffle bag from me.

"Nah, this is it for me," Itold himwith a grin.

"Well, then let's get you home and show you your room," Diana said, still smiling. "What would you like for dinner, Duo?"

I shrugged. "I dunno…what do you have?" I asked, trying hard to not sound demanding or rude, even though I was starving and couldn't wait for dinner.

"It doesn't matter if we have it or not. If we don't, we can just stop at the store on the way home and pick it up."

I thought for a moment. "I think I'm up for some spaghetti," I decided finally. I liked spaghetti a lot, and it didn't seem all that labor intensive.

Jon let out a loud, booming laugh, and patted my head a few times. "Well Duo, it looks like you and I will get along just fine. I'm a spaghetti man too."


	3. Chapter Three: New Home

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, but I do own my characters and my plot.

Pairing: eventual 2xOC, past 2xH

* * *

_**Chapter Three: New Home**_

"Welcome to your new home, Duo," Diana said as we pulled into their driveway.

'Home' for me now was a two-story blue house with a front porch, a two-car garage, and a rear patio that overlooked a small vegetable garden and back yard. The front yard was nice, with those weird pink flamingo decorations stuck into flower gardens filled with petunias and other classic garden flowers. The neighborhood surrounding us was nice, with lots of other petunia-and-pink-flamingo-filled flower gardens in front yards. The Christopher's house was one of the smaller ones on the block, but it had a charm that the rest of the houses didn't.

Inside, the house smelled like cookies and flowers. And dog. I heard Benny when we got out of the car, and I met Benny as soon as I stepped through the door. He was a big dog, almost as tall as me when he stood on his hind legs. He jumped up and down, barking at me and trying to lick my face. He seemed like a nice dog, but I was grateful that Sally had made me wear that thick denim jacket, because Benny's toenails seemed slightly on the dangerous side.

"Benny, down!" Diana hissed, grabbing the Lab by his collar and pulling him off of me. "Sorry about that. He loves meeting new people."

"It's alright," I said, patting Benny on the head. I was awarded with a big wet lick.

Diana began to half lead, half drag Benny to the back door. "Once he gets used to you, he'll be a lot calmer. I'm going to put him outside for right now, until you get a little more settled in."

"While she's taking Benny out, I'll give you a tour of the house," Jon offered.

We started into the entryway that led from the garage to the house. The entryway led to the kitchen, which had an island in the middle of it. On top of the island was a plate full of chocolate cookies. I took one as Jon led me through a swinging door into the dining room. Both the dining room and the kitchen had doors that led into what Jon referred to as the front room. It had a large window with a window seat, a very nice comfortable looking couch, two armchairs and a coffee table. In one corner on a stand was a large stereo, and below it as a large collection of CDs. A doorway on one side of the room led to the front hallway, where the front door and the stairs to the upstairs were located. At the top of the stairs and across the landing there was the den. It was where the TV was, and it had a futon that allowed the room to act as a guest bedroom whenever company came. After the den came the bathroom, then my room, then the office where Diana and Jon had their computer, and where Diana had a desk to grade papers at. Across the hall from the office was their room, with their own bathroom.

The door to my room was closed, and Jon said we would have to wait until Diana joined us. I was anxious to see the place I was staying, but I obliged, and Diana was with us soon after.

"Well, go ahead Duo, open the door and tell us what you think."

I opened the door and stepped into my room. It was a nice room. There was a bureau for my clothes, and a closet too. The bookcase had books on the bottom two shelves, but the top shelf and the top of the bookcase were empty. I had a desk, and on it sat a computer. The bed was made with light blue sheets and a dark blue comforter. One wall had a diagram of the space colonies and a map of the world on it. The other had a huge star chart with all the constellations marked on it. The rest of the wall space was blank.

My jaw dropped. I hadn't been expecting much more than a bed and a dresser in a blank room. This was incredible!

"You can redecorate how ever you want, Duo," Diana said, sounding slightly worried.

I looked at her, my eyes wide. "Are you kidding? What is there to redecorate? This is amazing!"

"You like it then?" she asked as I walked over to examine the diagram of the space colonies.

"Yeah!" I said. "This is one of the greatest rooms I've ever had!" I turned to them, hoping they could see just how happy I was since I couldn't express it in words. "Thanks for doing this. It means a lot to me."

Jon smiled. "Well, getting it together was the most fun we've ever had decorating a room."

I laughed and turned back to the diagram. Jon excused himself to go start dinner while Diana stayed to help me unpack.

"There's not really much to unpack," I told her as we put my bags on the bed and opened them. "I didn't bring too much with me because I didn't really have too much to begin with."

She took the things out of my backpack. "What a pretty box! What's in it?"

"I dunno. My friend Trowa gave it to me. There's a trick to opening it, and I haven't tried to figure it out yet," I explained as I put my clothes from my duffel bag into my bureau.

"Oh." She fell silent, and I when I looked I saw that she was looking through the photo album.

"Those are my friends. That's Heero, Quatre, WuFei, Trowa, Sally, Noin, and Relena." I pointed to each of them as I said their names.

"They look like nice people."

We worked in silence again for a few moments until she asked "Is this another one of your friends?"

She held up my framed picture of Hilde and me. In the picture, we were sitting back to back on a park bench. Hilde looked like she was giggling, and I was grinning ear to ear. "Yeah, that's Hilde."

"What was so funny?" Diana asked, chuckling a little herself at the expressions we had in the picture.

"Oh, I don't remember. I think we had asked WuFei to take the picture for us, and then we had spent all day trying to find the perfect spot. I think right before he took this picture, WuFei mumbled something about injustice and integrity or something." Diana raised her eyebrow at me, and I laughed. "You have to know WuFei."

I took to photo from her and placed it on top of my dresser. It was the only really good picture I had of Hilde and me together, and I wanted it to be on display for everyone to see.

When we were done unpacking my stuff, Diana laid out the rules of the house. "We're pretty lax here," she assured me before we began, "but we still have some rules." Since I was almost seventeen, she said, they trusted me to make good decisions. The computer in my room was hooked up to the Internet, which would make it easy for me to keep in contact with my friends in space. As far as friends on earth went, they figured I was old enough to pick my own friends—and live with the consequences if I chose friends who weren't the best people. I was expected to be home by nine-thirty on school nights and twelve-thirty on weekends. They wanted me to call if I was going to be late, or if plans were changed. Basically, they didn't care where I went or who I went there with as long as I told them first. That seemed reasonable to me. I could have girls in my room or in the den, as long as I kept the door open. My room had to be relatively clean if I wanted friends over, and I was expected to do some chores around the house, "Just like any other kid," Diana said. I was also expected to keep at least a B average in school, or else privileges would be suspended.

"Does all this sound reasonable Duo?" Diana asked me when she was finished.

"Sure," I said with a shrug. "I've never really had anyone tell me to go here or do this or be home at such and such time since I was little. It'll be nice to have some rules," I admitted after a moment's thought.

She patted me on the back. "We're really happy that you're here, Duo. We just want to be a good family for you while you're here. If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask, okay?"

I nodded. "Okay."

Jon's booming voice came up the stairs. "Dinner's ready! You two had better hurry before I eat it all!"

Diana headed to the door. "And he really will if we don't get there."

I followed her, ready to have my first ever sit down dinner with a family.

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PLEASE REVIEW! I wanna hear what you guys think! (remember, any suggestions about plot are welcome) 


	4. Chapter Four: High School 101 Principal

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters from it. I do own my characters and the plot, though, so I'm not totally hopeless.

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_**Chapter Four: High School 101-- The Principal**_

"Hi, I'm Duo Maxwell, I'm the new student that's supposed to start today."

The secretary looked up from her computer screen at me and frowned after a moment. She was a middle-aged woman, maybe ten or twelve years older than Diana. Her hair had been dyed blonde, and dark roots were showing. Her eyes were pinched around a sharp nose, and her clothes looked way to expensive for a high school secretary to be wearing. She looked like the kind of person who judged you first, and then got to know you later. And as she looked at me, with my usual all black get-up, complete with my priest collar and black cap, and my wild bangs (she didn't see my braid because I had tucked it up into my cap), I knew she was judging me to be a troublemaker.

"Just a moment," she said with a smile so fake it made me want to puke. She picked up her phone and hit a button on it. "Mr. Quigley, the new student Duo Maxwell has arrived…. Yes, sir, I can." She hung up the phone. "Mr. Quigley would like to se you in his office."

"I've been here for three minutes and I'm already being sent to the principal's office?" I asked, jokingly. She frowned at me again. She was not the joking kind of person. "Well, thank you," I said and went to the door marked "Charles Quigley, Principal". I knocked, and he called me in.

Principal Quigley's office was crowded with chairs and a desk and a conference table. The various degrees and awards he had received hung on the walls. He was sitting at his desk, and it looked like he was examining some papers. When I got closer, I realized it was my file that he was examining. _Good God,_ I thought, rolling my eyes. _Does everyone and his idiot brother have access to my records. _I did notice how ever that his copy of my records was not as thick as the copy that Miss Renée had had. No doubt all the information about me being a Gundam Pilot during the war had been conveniently omitted from the school's version.

He stood up and stretched out his hand to me. The gesture was friendly, but I noticed the expression on his face was not. After we shook hands, he sat down, but did not offer me a seat. He picked up my file and continued to look at it. "So, Duo, I was just looking over your file here--"

"Yeah, I noticed," I said before I could stop myself. I felt like kicking myself when Principal Quigley glared at me over the folder.

"As I was saying," he continued. "I was looking over your file here, and it says time and time again that you are quite fond of wise cracks." I winced. Me and my big mouth.

"Duo, let me set something straight for you," Principal Quigley said, tossing my file down on the desk. "This is a top notch institution, the best public school in the region. We expect only the best from our students, and that's all they ever give us. Your records indicate that you don't have much respect for authority, and your schooling history is…sporadic at best. I don't see how they could place you in as high a grade as they did, what with all the school hopping you've done over the past two or three years. I don't know how they do things in the colonies, but if I had my way, you would be sent back to middle school--"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Then I guess I should be glad you're not having your way, huh?" I commented with a smirk. This guy was rubbing me the wrong way, acting all high and mighty like he was some great educator or something.

He narrowed his eyes at me in return. "We're not going to have any trouble with you, are we, Mr. Maxwell?"

I shook my head and gave Quigley a sideways grin. "I wasn't planning on it, but you sure seem ready for some. I guess I could work it in my schedule if you really want me to, but I was hoping to have a nice quite time here."

"Good. Let's keep it a nice quiet time. Here." He lifted a half-sheet of paper off his desk and held it out to me. "This is your schedule," he explained as I took it. "Second period started fifteen minutes ago. Just tell your teachers you're the new student, and they'll know what to do."

"Okay, thanks," I said as I turned and headed to the door.

"Oh, and Mr. Maxwell."

I stopped with my hand on the door handle and turned back to him. "Yeah?"

"You are not to leave until I dismiss you."

"Oh. I'll try to keep that in mind for our future meetings." And without waiting for him to dismiss me, I opened the door of his office, stepped out, and closed it with a satisfying bang that made the secretary jump.

I smiled at her innocently and headed to my second period class, World History.


	5. Chapter Five: High School 102 Classmates

Disclaimer: I don't own...BAH! You guys know the drill by now...

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_**Chapter Five: High School 102—Classmates**_

I found the room with no problem. Looking through the window of the door, I saw that the class was working in small groups, and the teacher was sitting at her desk grading papers. Figuring I didn't need to knock, I opened the door and walked in.

The students all turned to see who was coming in, and when they saw me, they all exchanged questioning with each other. I heard someone whisper "Who the heck is that?" to a friend. The teacher, realizing the class had gone silent, looked up from her papers and at me. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah," I said, going to her desk at the front of the classroom. "I'm Duo Maxwell, the new student." I tried hard to ignore the twenty-three pairs of eyes that were drilling into my back.

"Oh, right, Principal Quigley said you'd be arriving today. I'm Ms. Collins. If you'll wait right here, I'll get your books and things together." She stood up and addressed the class. "Everyone, this is Duo Maxwell, and he'll be joining us for the rest of the year. Duo, why don't you tell the class a little about yourself while I get your things ready?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. How about where you're from for starters."

"Okay." I turned to face the rest of the class and took a deep breath. "My name is Duo Maxwell," I said. "I'm from the L2 Space colony."

Immediately the room began to buzz as my fellow classmates exchanged looks and whispers of disbelief and excitement. I smiled smugly. I was used to being the cause of excitement and confusion, but it never got old.

"Duo, why don't you tell us some of your hobbies," Ms. Collins prompted as she opened a cupboard and pulled out a book.

I grinned and rubbed the back of my neck. "I don't really have much in the way of hobbies. I like fixing stuff, like cars and machines and stuff. A friend and I, we owned a junkyard and garage up on the colony. That was more of a job then a hobby, but it was still fun."

"That's interesting. Here you go Duo," Ms. Collins said, handing me a textbook and a thick packet of worksheets. "We're doing some review work. Have you studied the American Revolution before?"

"Yeah," I said. I was lucky— that was something I had learned about when Heero and I had enrolled in a private school as a cover.

"Good." She glanced around the room, and then asked, "Jericho, are you working with anyone?" A girl who was sitting by herself in the back of the room shook her head 'no'. "Duo, why don't you go and work with Jericho, okay? Oh, and Duo?" she called after me as I headed towards the back of the room. "I'm sorry, but I don't allow students to wear hats in my class."

"Oh, okay," I said. I pulled my cap off, and out tumbled my braid. The whole classroom let out a collective gasp. Grinning to myself, I continued to my seat and sat down beside Jericho.

"Hi," I said, smiling at her. She had dark brown hair and big brown eyes.

She gave me a small smile in return. "Hi. I'm on page three already, but we can start at page one and I can help you with that if you want."

"Whatever," I said with a shrug, opening my book.

"So, what, are you studying to be a priest?" she asked.

I looked at her questioningly. "No. Why do you ask?"

She pointed at my neck with her pencil. "You're wearing a priest collar. Why are you wearing it if you're not a priest and you're not studying to be a priest?"

I shrugged. "I have my reasons."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Right. Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

I opened my mouth to tell her it was all right, but she had already started working on the packet again. I sighed inwardly and followed along.

The morning passed slowly. One thing that I missed about the junkyard was that when I worked there, I could make my own schedule. I could sleep till noon, get up, work in the junkyard or the garage till Hilde called me to dinner, and then either keep working or go out and do something with Hilde. It bothered me that now I had to get up at 6:15, get to school, and then spend the day following a schedule someone else had made for me. I missed my freedom.

Lunch was a welcome break from classes. The meatloaf was sort of scary looking, so I settled on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a bottle of lemonade. The lunchroom was crowded, and I couldn't find a seat anywhere. Kids all around me were pointing at me and whispering. Some were craning their necks to get a good look at me. A group of girls kept looking over at me and giggling. I flashed a smile at them, and was rewarded as they fell into a whole new fit of giggles. Yep, the Maxwell Charm still worked, even here on Earth. But even with the Maxwell Charm, no one asked me to sit with them.

I finally found a seat near the rear exit of the lunchroom. It was at a table that was completely empty except for one person: the girl who I had worked with in History class. She was holding a half-eaten apple in her left hand and was doing homework with her right.

"Hey," I said, stopping next to her table. "Your name's Jericho, right?"

She slowly lifted her eyes from her homework and looked up at me. "Yeah. And your name's Duo, right?"

"Yeah. Can I sit with you?" I asked

Jericho blinked and then looked around nervously, as though expecting to see someone with me. "Are you alone?" she asked.

I raised my eyebrow at the weird question. "Yep," I told her. "Just me and the voices in my head." I grinned at her.

"Haha," she laughed. "That's fine, as long as they stay in your head. Go ahead; sit. It's not like I own the table."

"Thanks." I sat and began to eat. Jericho went back to her homework. From where I was now, I could see that it was French. "You have French class this afternoon?" I asked, thinking she was rushing to finish her homework.

"No. I had it third period," she replied, not looking up. "This is due tomorrow."

"Then why are you doing it now?"

She shrugged. "To quote you, 'I have my reasons.'"

I raised my eyebrows and shrugged. "Whatever. You Earthlings are weird."

She snorted and closed her French book, apparently done with the assignment. "We're not the ones who name our kids 'Duo' and have them impersonate priests. By the way, I hope you know that impersonating a member of the clergy is a criminal offense in this region," she added.

"Thanks for the heads up. And for your information, no one named me Duo. I named myself."

"Hn." She looked at me for a moment like she wanted to ask me about naming myself, but then turned her attention to her lunch and didn't pursue the subject any further.

After a few minutes, Jericho looked up. At first I thought she was staring at me, but then I realized that she was looking past me out across the cafeteria. "Hmm…Well, I'm gonna go. I need to get to the library before next period," Jericho said as she quickly stood up and began gathering her stuff together. "Sorry to leave you to fend for yourself. But then, you look like you can take care of yourself just nicely."

"Yeah, I can. Thanks for letting me sit with you," I said, smiling at her.

She smiled a small smile back at me. "Sure thing. See ya later." With that, she turned and went through the rear exit.

I sighed and slouched in my chair. Earthlings were harder to make friends with than I thought.

"Hey, you're that new kid right? The one from the colonies?" I turned my head to see two guys my age walking up to the table. They both looked taller than me, and their shoulders were a lot broader. They both had short hair that was sort of spiked in the front. I had been noticing that guys on Earth tended to wear their hair shorter than guys in the colonies. So far, I was the only guy I had seen who had hair longer than ear length.

"Yeah, I'm that kid," I answered.

"My name's Jeff," one of the guys said. He was slightly taller than the others, and his hair was red. "This is Brian" He motioned to the other guy, who had dark brown hair and a pinched-looking face. "Mind if we sit?"

"Sure thing," I said with a smile. Finally, someone was approaching me.

"I dunno if you recognize me," Jeff said as he and Brian sat down. "But we're in the same Math class. I wanted to invite you to come sit with us during lunch today, but I guess I missed you walking past."

"Yeah, well I bet you're the only one in the whole room who did," I replied. They both laughed. Grinning, I finished off my lemonade.

"You're a pretty cool guy, Duo," Brian said. The compliment sounded genuine.

"Thanks. You guys are pretty okay too," I said with a grin. These guys were really friendly. I was starting to like them already.

"I was thinking," Jeff said. "There's a Math test coming up on Friday, and you have a lot to catch up on before then. I'm having a review session on Thursday at my house for anyone who wants to come by and study. You wanna come over? We can help you if you need it."

I was tempted to laugh and explain to him that Algebra two was a piece of cake compared to the math skills needed to recalibrate a Gundam to fight in zero gravity. But I didn't for a couple of reasons. First of all, I was supposed to keep the fact that I was a former Gundam pilot below the radar as much as possible. Secondly, these guys were nice, and I figured the review session would be a great place for me to start meeting people and making friends. "Yeah, sure, that'd be great."

"Cool. Here's my phone number," Jeff said as he pulled a piece of paper out of his three-ring binder and scribbled down his name and number on it. "If you have any questions about it, just gimme a call, okay?"

"Okay." I took the paper from him and tucked it in my pocket.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

"Well, gotta run. Catch ya later Duo," Brian said as he and Jeff stood up.

"Yeah, see ya."

The rest of the day seemed to pass more quickly now that I had made some friends. Jeff and Brian were in my Biology class, as was Jericho. I was about to sit down at the same table as Jericho when Brian and Jeff called me over to their table. I sat with them, and we chatted during the class period. They wanted to know what it was like living on the space colonies and things like that. I told them about it, and in return they explained told me about the ins and outs of high school

"The thing is Duo," Jeff whispered to me. "Up in the colonies, it sounds like people are pretty lax about how you dress and who you hang with, but down here on earth, that stuff really matters. It's all in who you know and how well you look the part. Take me for example. When I came here, I tried to play soccer. I was good at it, but can you see me, a big guy like me playing soccer? No! No one wanted to be near me cause I didn't fit the part of a soccer player. Then I went out for football. I wasn't as good at football as I was at soccer, but I was good enough to make it on the team. I looked like a football player, so the football players accepted me. And when they accepted me, the rest of the school followed suit. See? It's all in how you fit the part and who you know. Understand?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding. What they were saying made sense: to meet people, you had to know people. And to know people, you had to fit with them

"Now, Duo, we gotta set something straight for you before you wind up the way Jeff did with the soccer players," Brian said. "You don't wanna have to totally revamp your personality part way through the school year. You wanna start off on the right foot. See that girl over there?" He pointed across the room to where Jericho sat diligently taking notes as the teacher droned on about ecosystems. "Her name's Jericho. You were sitting at her table during lunch today, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. What about her?"

Jeff winced. "Duo, Jericho's not the kind of person you want to hang out with. She's got kind of a bad past, and she hasn't really done too much to make people like her. You're a good guy Duo, and it might sound horrible, but if you wanna keep a good reputation, I suggest you stay away from her."

I frowned. Jericho had seemed nice when I had met her, if a little distant. But then, I knew looks could be deceiving. I mean, when I first met Heero, I had thought he was a raving lunatic with no feelings. Now that I knew him, I knew he was a raving lunatic who did have feelings--he just hid them. And a first glance at Quatre made him seem cute and gentle like a puppy. But I knew that Quatre could fight like a rabid hyena if he had to. So it was possible that while Jericho seemed nice, she could actually be a bad cookie.

"Okay, I'll do my best to stay away from her," I said. "Now, what kinds of things do you guys do for fun around here? Like parties or games or--"

The teacher's voice cut my sentence short. "Duo, since you're so eager to talk, why don't you tell us who's at the top of the food chain?"

"Uh, well, since I have been known to eat just about anything that has ever been put in front of me, I guess I am," I said, leaning back in my chair and grinning at her.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't think so, Duo."

"Well then, you've obviously never seen me eat."

That won laughs from the rest of the class. The teacher sighed. "Jericho, do you know who's at the top of the food chain?"

Jericho's head snapped up, her eyes bright. "Carnivores. The specific species change from habitat to habitat, but the basic pattern of plants, herbivores, carnivores is the same throughout the biosphere."

"Thank you, Jericho. That is exactly correct." The teacher nodded in approval.

"You see what I mean?" Brian whispered to me as the lecture continued. "She's a walking encyclopedia, and she uses that skill to become every teacher's pet. If she's in your class, you can kiss your chance at becoming a teacher's favorite goodbye."

"I have World History with her too," I told them.

"Wow, man," Jeff said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

When the last bell rang at 2:15, I jumped out of my seat and dashed home, eager to be away from the school. I had come to the conclusion that school was going to be a drag and the only thing that would save me from death by boredom would be my friends. But I already had two guys who were quickly becoming my friends, so I figured I wouldn't be too bad off.


	6. Chapter Six: Routine's Beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own...BAH! You guys know the drill by now...

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_**Chapter Six: Routine's Beginning**_

_Duo,_  
_I have a meeting after school today, so I won't be home until around five. Jon will be doing some grocery shopping after he gets off work, but he should be home before me. Please either take Benny for a walk or put him out on his run in the back yard.  
__There are brownies on the counter and apples in the fridge of you want a snack. If you need anything, just call my cell phone (231-555-0086)  
__Diana_

The note had been left on the kitchen counter, next to a plate of brownies. I took a brownie, grabbed the leash that Diana had left on the counter, and went outside to get Benny. While we were gone for the day, Benny stayed in a fenced in pen behind the garage. The pen was about ten feet by six feet, and had a doghouse inside. When he saw me, Benny began to bark and wag his tail excitedly.

"Hey Benny," I greeted him as I popped the last bit of brownie into my mouth. "Wanna go for a walk?" I held up the leash and he just wagged his tail all the more. "Okay, then you need to sit and stay while I get the collar on you." Opened the door to the kennel. "Sit!" Immediately the huge yellow dog sat down on his haunches, his tongue lolling out of his mouth and his body still shaking from his wagging tail. "Stay!" He obeyed me and behaved while I put the leash on him. "Good boy, Benny," I said rubbing his back when I was done. "Let's go for a walk, okay?"

Benny and I went for a stroll through the neighborhood. It was a bright sunny day in mid September, and people were outside everywhere, enjoying the nice weather. Many people recognized Benny, and when Benny stopped to be petted, I stopped too and chatted with the people.

In front of one very large and Victorian house a few blocks up from the Christopher's, a woman was out clipping her hedges. Benny barked happily at her and promptly dragged me across her lawn to see her. _Jeez,_ I thought. _Who's walking who here?_

"Benny! What a nice surprise!" the woman said with a smile as she squatted down and rubbed Benny's head. She smiled up at me. "What's your name?"

"Duo, Duo Maxwell," I replied.

"Well, Duo Maxwell, I see you've been bestowed the honor of escorting Benny around the neighborhood." She laughed and stood up. "You must be Diana and Jon's new foster child, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

She smiled. "They're nice people. I'm Megan VanBuren." We shook hands. "I've been friends with the Christopher's for a few years. I hope you enjoy your time with them. And I hope you and Benny enjoy your romp through the neighborhood," she added, giving Benny a last pat on the head.

"Thanks. See you around," I said as Benny and I turned and headed back to the sidewalk.

"You know Benny, I think you are quite possibly the most popular dog I have ever met." We crossed the street and continued walking a ways until we finally ended up walking past a park. "Wanna sit down and have a rest Benny?" I asked. I didn't wait for an answer. I led Benny over to a bench and collapsed into it. "It's been a long day Benny. Gods, whoever invented school needs to be dragged out in to the street and shot."

Benny snapped his head up at me and whimpered. I laughed and patted his head. "Not really. Just a figure of speech," I sighed and looked up at the beautiful blue sky. "Besides, now that we have peace, there aren't any guns to shoot the person with."

I sat on the bench for a long time, watching some little kids played on the jungle gym and slide. Benny sat beside me quietly and watched the little kids too, his tongue once again hanging out of his mouth in a goofy grin.

I was so engrossed in watching the kids play that I didn't realize how late it was until my watch went off. "JEEZ!" I cried as I looked at it. I jumped up and pulled on the leash to get Benny to stand up. "It's four o'clock already. Com'n Benny, we gotta get back home!"

I took off at a jog, and Benny kept up with me all the way back down the three or four blocks to the Christopher's house. We got there just as Jon pulled into the driveway. I waved to him and came to a stop next to his car.

"Hey Duo!" Jon said as he got out of the car. He was wearing an old pair of jeans, a t-shirt that had grease on it, and work boots. "You and Benny have a good walk?"

"Yeah. He took me around and introduced me to the entire neighborhood."

"Benny likes people. He loves it when he gets to take his people for a walk. Here, you wanna help me carry in the groceries? I got some stuff I thought you might like."

I put Benny inside and then helped Jon carry the grocery bags into the kitchen. Jon fed Benny while I pulled the groceries out and put them away. He had gotten the everyday kind of groceries like milk and bread and eggs, but he had also gotten some stuff that looked like it had been bought mainly for me. There were frozen pizzas and soda and cereal and bagels, and a whole bunch of other food that looked really appealing.

"I was thinking that tonight you and I could make dinner, since Diana's gonna be home late," Jon said. "How does that sound?"

I shrugged. "Okay I guess. I've never really done much cooking."

"I thought you and a friend lived in a house by yourselves for a while. Didn't you cook then?" he asked as he pulled some frozen chicken out of the freezer.

"Nah. I cooked maybe once, and it was a complete disaster," I replied. "Hilde usually cooked. I did dishes."

"Sounds like a good arrangement. I wish Diana and I figured out a system like that when we were first married. You should have seen some of the pillow fights that were the result of neither of us wanting to do the dishes," Jon said, winking at me.

I grinned. "Hilde and I had our share of those. There was this one time when she lost and had to do the dishes, and I came in, totally unsuspecting, and she sprayed me with that squirt thingy that's on some sinks, you know? Man, I was soaked through, and it wasn't even bath night!"

That sent Jon into a fit of laughter. Grinning, I decided that I liked Jon. He liked to laugh, and I liked making people laugh. And Jon was one of those people who would probably laugh at a joke even if no one else did. When he was happy, he showed it.

While we were cooking, Jon taught me how to wash and peal potatoes and carrots. We were making baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and carrots. I had never made mashed potatoes from scratch, but it turned out to be a lot easier than it sounded.

Diana came in shortly after five. She looked tired and the bun in her hair was starting to fall out, but she didn't act like she was tired. "Hey boys, what's for dinner?"

"Chicken, carrots and mashed potatoes à la Maxwell," Jon said as he walked over and gave his wife a hug and kiss 'hello'. I looked away while they were embracing. Watching them reminded me of Hilde.

"How long until dinner?" Diana asked.

"Oh, about ten minutes I guess," Jon replied.

"Okay…Hey, Duo, is this your backpack?" Diana pointed at my bag that I had dropped on the floor in the hall when I had gotten home. I nodded. "Would you mind taking it up stairs to your room then?" she requested.

"Okay." I hopped down from the stool I was sitting on, grabbed my bag off the floor, and headed up to my room.

I tossed my bag on my bed. After a moment's thought, I walked over to my computer and logged onto my e-mail account. I had one message, and it was from Quatre. I quickly opened it, happy to see that my friend had written back so soon. But when I read the e-mail, I was slightly disappointed.

_Duo,_  
_I'm glad to hear you made it to Earth and that you like your foster parents. Things are quieter here without you around, but just as busy. Heero, Trowa, and WuFei all send their regards. Write back soon._  
_Quatre_

I sighed. I didn't know what I had expected, since my e-mail to them had simply been a quick e-mail that basically said, "I'm here, and the people are nice."

"Duo! Dinner's almost ready!" Diana called up the stairs. "Wash your hands and come to the table!"

"Okay!" I called back. "Be down in a minute!" I clicked the "reply" button at the bottom of the message. I stared at the screen for a few seconds, trying to decide what to write. I wanted to tell Quatre that I still missed them, and that school wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and that I wanted to be back on the colonies with him and the others. But I knew that if I wrote something like that, then Quatre would worry, Heero would think I was too immature to handle a new setting, and WuFei would call me weak. Trowa would be the only one who wouldn't show any change. Sometimes I wished I could hide my emotions like him.

Sighing, I closed the window without writing anything. _I'll write to them after dinner if I have time,_ I told myself.

I quickly washed my hands then went downstairs to the dining room. Diana and Jon were just sitting down, so I wasn't late.

"This looks great, guys," Diana said as she scanned the food.

"Well, it was simple enough, huh Duo?" Jon said, grinning at me.

I nodded. "Yeah."

Jon served Diana and me. I wanted to tell him that I could serve myself, but I kept my mouth shut for once.

"So, Duo, tell us all about your first day of school," Diana said as she took a bite of her food.

"Well, it was okay, I guess," I replied between bites. "I mean, most of my classes are really boring. Well, History might be fun. And biology. Math's gonna be a breeze, and my English teacher is so boring it's not funny. I have PE tomorrow, and I missed my Economics class this morning cause of my meeting with Principal Quigley."

"Oh? How'd that go?" Diana asked.

"He hates me."

Diana looked at me, shocked. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, he gave me the whole 'We run a tight ship around here' speech. Then he told me that if he had his way he was would've sent me back to middle school. And when I made a joke, he glared at me and asked me point blank if I was gonna cause any trouble. I don't know what his problem is, but I never start trouble unless I have a good reason," I finished. Diana and Jon were both looking slightly worried. I smiled reassuringly at them. "Don't worry, I'm not planning on starting any trouble here. Last thing I want or need is Miss Renée coming in and screwing with my life again, you know? It's just that people here are so uptight. They all looked at me like I was some sort of alien."

Jon laughed. "Well, Duo, you are from outer space."

Diana smiled at her husband, and then turned her attention to me. "Well Duo, you do dress a little more extremely than people around here are used to. But I'm sure once they get to know you, that won't bother them. You just keep on being yourself, and you'll be fine." She popped a few carrots into her mouth, chewed and swallowed. "Did you make any friends?"

"Yeah!" I said, sitting up. "Two guys, Jeff and Brian. Jeff's in my math class and I have bio with both of them. They're really cool guys, and Jeff's invited me over to his house on Thursday afternoon to study for our Math test. Can I go?"

Diana and Jon exchanged smiles. "Sure you can go," Jon said. "Sounds like a good time."

Grinning, I cleaned my plate and asked for seconds. When I had finished those, I pushed my plate away and let out a contented sigh. "That was really good."

"Indeed," Diana agreed. "You boys did a great job." She stood and began to clear the table. "Duo, do you have homework?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Okay, well, you should probably get on that before it gets too late."

"Alright." I stood up and headed up to my room. I paused half way up the stairs though, when I heard them talking about me.

"I'm so glad to hear that Duo's making friends," Diana was saying. "It seems like he's adjusting well."

"Yeah," Jon said. "Oh, and today at the store, I picked up some of those foods Miss Renée suggested we get. She's right, he is thinner than he was in the picture they sent us, like he's lost weight."

"Well, people tend to loose weight after going through something like Duo did, Jon. Megan did, you remember that. We just need to keep an eye on him and make sure he eats enough."

"He certainly ate enough tonight. Seconds on everything! He can sure pack it away for a kid his size. Of course, when I was his age, I could eat a lot more than that in one sitting."

"You were also probably twice Duo's size, you big galoot," Diana replied, laughing. Jon laughed as well.

I continued to my room and flopped down on my bed. So, Miss Renée had told them to keep an eye on my appetite. She had also probably told them to watch for depressed or suicidal behavior. I laughed to myself. I wasn't planning on killing myself. I still missed Hilde, but the hurt wasn't as bad as it had been a month before.

Sitting up, I picked up the picture of Hilde and me off my dresser and looked at it, remembering the day. She had been so proud of herself for talking WuFei into taking a picture of us. I ran my finger over her face. "Hey kiddo," I said, smiling a bittersweet smile at her. "I'm doin' okay. I hope you're doin' okay, too, where ever you are."

I put the picture back and walked over to my bookshelf where the guys' presents sat. I picked up the self-destruct switch Heero had given to me. He had sworn that it wasn't meant to be a joke on the fact that I could never manage to self-destruct my Gundam. But I swear to God, Heero had some sense of humor-- even if it was slightly skewed--and I had my suspicions that the gift was Heero's way of poking fun at me. I put the switch down and lifted Trowa's puzzle box. I twisted a couple of the carvings on it and then tried to open the lid. No luck. I had been trying different combinations carvings and number of twists over the past few days, but nothing had worked. Sighing, I put the box back and turned my attention to my homework.

My homework took me a lot longer than I had thought it would. My math homework took me no time at all, but between the short story I had to read for English, the review sheets for History, and the bookwork for Biology, it took me the better part of three hours to get it all done. When I did finish, I was yawning so much that I decided to go straight to bed and not write that e-mail to Quatre.

I brushed my teeth and said goodnight to Diana and Jon who were working in their study.

When I got back to my room, I pulled off my clothes until I was just in my boxers and then I crawled into bed. I turned off the lights and stared at the ceiling for a long time. For some reason, the lessons I had been taught at the Maxwell Church came back to me. All the stories about God and Jesus and Moses and everybody. Frowning, I finally spoke. "Well God, if you're there, I hope you at least know what you're doing, 'cause I have no clue what I'm doing."

With that, I rolled over and went to sleep.


	7. Chapter Seven: Not Political Theory

Disclaimer: I don't own...BAH! You guys know the drill by now...

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_**Chapter Seven: Not Political Theory**_

"Duo! Hey, Duo!" Jeff called to me in the hall. It was before homeroom on my second day of school, and I was standing outside my homeroom, trying to look nonchalant.

"Hey Jeff," I greeted him when he reached me. "What's up?"

"Not much. I like the denim jacket," he said. "Where'd you get it?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. My friend Hilde picked it up for me somewhere. She probably got it at a thrift store or something." I straightened the sleeves while I spoke. I had traded my usual black clothing for something that looked a little more normal for an Earth setting: Jeans, a tee-shirt, and my jacket.

"Cool. You get a lot of your clothes from thrift stores?" Jeff asked as he leaned against a locker.

"Some of them. Some of them I buy new, and some of them I make myself—or at least alter them to suit my needs."

"Huh. That's neat. Didja ask your parents about coming over to my house tomorrow?"

"They're my foster parents, and yeah, they said I could go over."

"Foster parents?" Jeff asked, and I noted that his voice had a slightly different tone to it. "I didn't know you were a foster child."

"Yeah, I am," I replied.

"Oh."

We talked about homework and other stuff until the bell rang, and while the tone of Jeff's speech became normal again, I couldn't' shake the slight feeling that somehow something was different between us.

"So, who has other examples of revolutions that are similar to the American Revolution in the A.D 1770's?" Ms. Collins asked that day during second period History.

I was sitting in a seat that was near the windows. I had followed Jeff's advice and chosen a seat as far from Jericho as I could. The class so far had been boring, and I was starting to zone out as I stared out the window.

"What about the space colonies' revolt against the Alliance?" one girl suggested.

"I don't know, what about it? Was the space colonists' revolt similar to the American colonist's revolt?"

"No. Those two revolts were nothing alike."

I turned to see who was speaking. It was Jericho. She was sitting in a chair in the back of the room, her arms crossed in front of her.

Ms. Collins raised her eyebrows. Obviously that was not the answer she had been expecting. "Would you like to explain your opinion, Jericho?"

Jericho shrugged. "It's pretty simple really. I mean, sure, in both cases the weaker colonies were revolting against a stronger, tyrannical government. But thing this is, with the American Revolution, they could survive without England. They had this huge continent that had forests and soil and waterways and other resources. They didn't need anything from England—they had everything they needed to survive basically at their fingertips, and they had a vast area to expand into. But the space colonies don't have that. The space colonies are an artificial environment, and they have no resources of their own to take advantage of. Anything they need needs to come from earth. Should they have succeeded in their revolt, the space colonies would have basically signed their own death certificates. The way I see it, the American revolution was the only one of the two revolutions that was reasonable. The space colonies' sending the Gundams to earth was a waste of precious resources and man power."

I sat up straight in my chair and looked hard at her. She had no idea what she was talking about. The Gundams hadn't been a waste at all.

My sudden movement caught Ms. Collins' eye. "Duo," she said with a smile. "You're from the colonies. What's your take on Jericho's views?"

"It's a load of bull sh—crap," I said, curbing my word choice just in time. "First of all, we—the space colonies—weren't fighting for total independence like the Americans. We just wanted the Alliance's militaristic hold to be lessened a little, let us live out our day-to-day lives without having to see mobile suits every couple of blocks. We're not stupid; we know we can't survive without earth.

"Secondly, I would like to set the record straight on purpose of the Gundams. They weren't sent to Earth by a unanimous vote by the colonies. They were sent by a couple of individuals who had their own score to settle. Also, the Gundams' target wasn't the Alliance government, it was OZ."

"Oh, right," Jerichosnorted. "And that's why a Gundam attacked and destroyed the shuttle that was carrying all the Alliance leaders."

"An _OZ_ shuttle. How was the pilot supposed to know who was on board?" I demanded.

Jericho ignored my question. "That's another way the revolutions were different. In the American Revolution, the rebels were fighting on their own territory. The Gundams didn't fight in the colonies, they fought on Earth. The British would have suffered from some sort of culture shock when they got over here, what with the different terrain and everything. They were at a disadvantage. The space colonists, who were already the weaker party, sent the Gundams to Earth, meaning the pilots probably suffered from some form of culture shock. I'm sure Duo could tell you that it's a bit of a shock being on earth after living on the colonies all his life."

Ms. Collins looked like she was debating whether to allow the conversation to continue, but she turned to me and asked, "Well Duo, are you going through culture shock?"

"Nah," I replied. "I've been on Earth before. Spent a fair amount of time down here during the war, actually."

"Really?" Jericho said, cocking her head to one side. "I thought transportation to and from the space colonies was severely limited before and during the war. I heard you needed government and military clearance to leave the colonies. How'd you manage to get off the colonies?"

Our eyes locked, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I had to think fast. I had to come up with a response that was believable but didn't give anything away. And it couldn't just be anything, because I knew Jericho was smarter than your average person.

At that moment, Ms. Collins stepped in and saved me from a very difficult situation. "I'm afraid this conversation has strayed from the topic just a little too much. To get back to your original statement, Jericho, you don't think the space colonies' revolt was plausible because the space colonies depend too heavily on earth, unlike the American colonists and England."

Jericho nodded. "Exactly. That's why I think the Gundams were a total waste."

"Did it ever occur to you that without the Gundams you'd be dead right now because of Mariemaia dropping a colony on earth or the White Fang dropping Libra?" I demanded, feeling my anger rise

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Maybe if the Gundams never existed, the White Fang would have never formed, or Treize Kushranada would have still been alive."

"Yeah, and with him around, we'd all be living under the totalitarian rule of OZ! Sorry, but I'd take nuclear winter over that!" I said sarcastically. My voice was getting dangerously close to shouting volume.

"Well, if that Gundam pilot hadn't killed all the Alliance leaders, maybe OZ wouldn't have come to power!" Jericho's face was turning red.

"Maybe if the Alliance had spent more time paying attention to their own military than terrorizing the colonists, then the Gundams wouldn't have become necessary!" I was officially shouting now.

"Yeah, well--"

"THAT IS ENOUGH! SIT DOWN BOTH OF YOU!" Ms. Collins ordered us.

I suddenly realized that we had both somehow come to be standing up, Jericho with her arms folded across her chest and me with my fists clenched by my sides. We both seemed ready to launch ourselves at each other and make the argument physical. My face was hot and I was seeing red, I was so mad. She didn't get it, did she? It was because of us Gundam pilots that she was able to sleep soundly in her bed at night.

Neither of us moved.

"Don't make me repeat myself," Ms. Collins said, her voice low and calculated sounding. "Sit down, or I'll call Principal Quigley."

Jericho was the first to move. Her arms dropped to her sides and she quickly and gracefully sat down. I allowed my fists to relax and I just sort of collapsed back into my seat. Looking down at my hands, I saw I was bleeding. I had been clenching my fists so hard my nails had broken my skin.

"I think that will be the end of discussion for today," Ms. Collins said, sitting down at her desk. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Work on your packets for the rest of the period, independently. Duo and Jericho, I want to see both after class."

Groaning, I put my head down on my desk. Knowing my luck, she was going to call Diana and Jon and tell them I had caused a huge disturbance.

At the end of the period, Jericho and I both walked forward to Ms. Collins' desk. She sighed and stood up, putting her hands on her desk. "Jericho, I've told you before—this is not a political theory class. This is history. We don't have time in our schedules to have you starting up debates on topics that are little relevance to the actual course. I like you, and I think your arguments are valid, but this is your last warning. One more unrelated debate, and I'm going to have request that you be moved to a different class. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am. I'm sorry," Jericho said quietly, nodding. I didn't think she looked sorry at all.

"Duo," Ms. Collins said, turning to me. "While I admire your steadfast determination to hold to your point of view, next time something like this comes up, please try to keep it civil. I don't know how things are done on the colonies, but here on earth, Shouting matches are usually frowned upon in a classroom setting. Next time this happens, you'll get a detention. Get it?"

"Yeah."

"Good. However, I am glad to have you in this class. I have a feeling that if you and Jericho learn how to keep debates on topic and at a reasonable volume, you might be able to stir some of your classmates into participating." She smiled and handed us each a hall pass. "You'd better hurry to your next class."

I took the pass and left to room. It was still in the middle of the class change, and the hall was full of students hurrying to their classes.

"Hey Duo! Wait a sec!" I turned to see Jericho hurrying up to me.

I looked around. The halls were really crowded. No doubt someone was going to see me talking to Jericho. I was tempted to turn and walk away, but that would be rude, and the times when I was rare to girls were rare. "What?" I asked her. "I've gotta get to math."

"Well, you, um…you debated well in there. Got me thinking," she said, shifting her books in her arms.

"Thanks," I said, smiling slightly. "Is that all you wanted?"

"No. I was…I was just wondering if you believe the rumors about the Gundam pilots beings teenagers, like us?"

I shrugged. "Who knows? Why, do you believe them?"

She gave me a funny little smile and our eyes locked. "Well, I didn't until about twenty minutes ago. But after debating you, I think my opinions on a lot of stuff are changing." There was something in her eyes that made me worry. _She knows,_ I thought_. Or if she doesn't know, then she at least suspects._ "Well, I got to get to French. See ya Duo!" She turned and hurried down the hall.

I watched her do for a minute, then turned myself and headed to math class. My brain was working over time. If Jericho suspected me to be a Gundam pilot, or anything like that, then I was in trouble. That information was supposed to stay really hush-hush, or else I would probably get a lot of unwanted media attention. If even a rumor got around that I was a Gundam pilot, then I might have to be relocated. I just hoped that Jericho was one of those few girls who didn't blab everything she knew and heard to her friends.

"Who am I kidding?" I asked myself with a laugh as I sat down in my seat in math. "She doesn't have any friends. Jeff said so, and from what I can tell, no one pays attention to her."

"Talking to yourself, bud?" Jeff asked as he sat down next to me.

I grinned at him. "Somethin' like that."

"Well, you probably should keep it to a minimum," Jeff said, lowering his voice as the teacher called the class to order. "First sign of insanity you, you know."

"Trust me, Jeff. Once you get to know me, you'll realize that my talking to myself is the least of my problems."

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YAY! BIG UPDATE! I'm so happy! Please review! I like hearing what yoiu guys think. 


	8. Chapter Eight: Lunch, Bio, Lady Une

_**Chapter Eight: Lunch, Bio, Lady Une**_

I sat with Jeff and Brian and their friends at lunch that day. I had gotten myself another peanut butter and jelly sandwich and lemonade for lunch. So far, it looked like PB & J was the only thing the lunch ladies could do right.

Jeff and Brian introduced me to their friends as I sat down. It was a mix of girls and guys, all of whom were dressed in the latest fashions. The girls were wearing shirts that were really tight, but not so tight they looked slutty. The guys were all wearing t-shirts or polo shirts and khakis. I felt kind of out place with my jeans and thrift store denim jacket, but no one seemed to notice really.

"So, Duo, did you play any sports at your old school?" the guy sitting across the table from me, James, asked.

"Not really. Well, I played basketball at one school, and I was pretty good at it, but I left that school part way through the season," I explained, taking a bite of my sandwich.

"Why'd you leave?" James asked.

I shrugged. "It was during the war, and I moved around a lot." I knew a lot of people had moved around a lot as refugees during the war, so I figured that was a safe answer.

"Was that while you were on Earth?" Kristen, the girl sitting next to me asked. I recognized her from my history class.

I nodded. "Yeah."

Kristen laughed. "That was some debate you and Jericho got into today. Most excitement I've ever seen in a history class."

"What debate?" Jeff asked.

James' jaw dropped. "You mean you haven't heard yet? It's all over the school. Duo and Jericho had an all-out argument about the Gundams this morning. They almost killed each other."

"It didn't really get that far," I protested, but no one heard me as Jeff started laughing.

"The Gundams?" Jeff cried. "What does Jericho know about the Gundams?"

"Probably a lot less than Duo," Brian said as the rest of the table chuckled along with Jeff.

"What makes you think I know anything about them to begin with?" I said with a grin, pretending to go along with the joke, even though I didn't know what was so funny.

"Well, you're from the colonies, so you must know something," Kristen said. "And the way you debated today, you sure proved you knew loads more about them than we do. But I guess it's a person's business to know the weapons his side is using in war, at least a little, huh?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." I decided it was time to change the topic before the conversation went any further. "So, what do you all do around here for fun?" I asked.

"Oh, we go hang out at the mall or go to movies, or go to parties," Brian said. "Sometimes the girls drag us along on shopping trips."

"Speaking of which," Kristen said, eyeing my clothes. "We should probably take you shopping. Get you some new, Earth clothes."

I frowned and looked down my clothes. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Nothing," Kristen said. "But if you want to make it with people around here, you need to dress like they do. It'll make people think you're one of them. Besides, if you dress right, girls will flock to you." She winked at me, and a shiver went up my spine. She was really good looking and I was getting the feeling she thought the same about me.

"I guess we should be glad he's not dressed like a reject from the Catholic Church today," James said, laughing. The rest of the group laughed too.

"Heh," I said, but I found it hard to smile. I was feeling out of place again, and I was thankful when the bell rang a few minutes later.

During Biology, I sat with Brian and Jeff again. We paid more attention than we had the day before, and for the first time in my life I took notes. It wasn't that hard; the notes were on an overhead and we just had to copy them down.

At the end of class, the teacher gave an announcement. "The science fair this year will be in January. I require all of my students to enter an exhibit. I know it's early, but I want to give notice a few months ahead of time so that those of you doing involved projects will have time to complete them. If you plan to work in groups, I need to know those groups tomorrow. Group changes after Monday will not be allowed unless there is a major problem within a group. Any questions?"

No one raised their hand.

"Alright," she said as the bell rang and we got up to leave. "Don't forget your homework! See you tomorrow!"

"Hey, Duo, you wanna work with me and Jeff on the science fair project?"

"Sure," I said with a grin.

"Cool."

When I got home, I took my stuff up to my room and then took Benny for another walk. Once again, Benny took me around the neighborhood and we greeted all of his friends and acquaintances. We didn't stop at the park though. Instead, when we reached the park, we turned around and headed back. Diana was normally home around three, and I didn't want to be gone too long after she got home. I didn't want her to worry.

As Benny and I came through the front door, I heard Diana talking in the kitchen. "…He took the dog for a walk. Oh, wait, I think he just came in the door. Duo, is that you?"

"Yeah," I called back as I kicked my shoes off and unhooked Benny's leash.

"You have a phone call," Diana said, appearing in the kitchen doorway. She was holding her hand over the mouth piece of the phone. "It's a Lady Une. She'd like to talk to you for a minute."

"Okay."

"Here he is," Diana said to the person on the other end, and then she handed me the phone.

I took the phone. "Hello?" I went back into the kitchen and sat on a stool.

"Hello Duo. This is Lady Une. How are you doing?" she sounded genuinely interested in my well being.

"I'm pretty good. How are you? What's up?"

"I'm fine. Are things going all right? How are you enjoying school?"

"About as much as any teenager enjoys school, I guess," I replied, winking at Diana when she smiled.

"That's good. It certainly is much quieter around head quarters without you here," she said, and I had a feeling I had made her smile too.

"That's what Quatre said too," I said. "How are things going with the Preventers anyway?" Diana put the plate of brownies down on the counter in front of me and I took one.

"They are going well, not that that's any of your concern anymore Duo. Actually, that's what I called you about. I don't recall going over this with you before you left, but now that you are a civilian, you are not to talk about the Preventers. Your involvement with the Preventers, like your past as a Gundam pilot, is strictly confidential. You are to assume the role of a normal teenager, understand?"

"Yeah, I get you."

"That means Duo," Lady Une went on, her voice a little more forceful. "That if you come into a situation that should be handled by the police or a rescue team, then you are to let them do their job. You are not to get involved unless you have no choice. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I sighed, rolling my eyes. I didn't know why she was even bothering to tell me this when she knew I wasn't going to comply.

"Good, I wanted to make sure you understood that. Now, I need to get back to work. It was good talking to you, Duo."

"You too, Lady Une. Say hi to Heero and all them for me."

"I will. Good bye."

"Bye," I said, and hung up the phone.

Diana smiled over at me. "What was that about?"

I shrugged. "My former superior officer just told me that another part of my life is to be kept a secret."

"Oh." Diana frowned, and I got the feeling she didn't like secrets. "How was school today?"

"It was pretty good," I replied. "I got into a debate today in History."

"Oh yeah? Over what?" Diana asked. She had put down the dish she had been drying and was giving me her full attention.

"Oh, the war and the Gundams," I replied. "There's this girl in my class that no one likes, and I can see why, I mean, she's really opinionated and stuff. Anyway, she said the Gundams and the colonies' rebellion had been pointless, and I argued with her about it."

"Hn," Diana said. "Sounds exciting. What else did you do? Meet any new people?"

"Yeah, Jeff and Brain introduced me to their friends," I answered, grinning smugly. "One of the girls offered to take me shopping for new clothes."

"New clothes?" Diana asked, cocking her head to the side. "What's wrong with the clothes you have?"

I shrugged. "I was wondering that too, but I guess clothing is really important here on Earth. And my clothing doesn't really fit in with theirs."

Diana chuckled. "Clothing isn't important to everyone. And your clothing is a part of you Duo. You shouldn't go out and buy a new wardrobe just to fit in." She sighed and turned back to drying the dishes. "But if you want to go shopping, I guess there's no harm in it."

"Yeah," I agreed, nodding. I stood and took another brownie from the plate. "I'll be in my room."

I went upstairs to my room and sat down at my computer. Opening my e-mail, I saw that I had no new messages. I clicked on the "Create message" button and typed out an e-mail to all my friends back in the colonies. I told them about my classes and about my friends, and about Diana, Jon, and Benny. I also said that I had yet to figure out Trowa's puzzle box and that I was almost ready to throw in the towel on it. I closed it by telling them that I missed them all, and I couldn't wait till I saw them all again. I sent the e-mail and did my homework.


	9. Chapter Nine: Lower Than Dogs

_**Chapter Nine: Lower Than Dogs**_

The next day, Thursday, passed just like the day before, except twice as slow because I was looking forward to the end of the day so I could go to Jeff's house.

My final class —English— seemed to drag by at a snail's pace. Mr. Burr stood at the front of the room, talking in his normal monotone voice about grammar. I was fighting the urge to pass out from boredom even though half the class had already given into the temptation already. Instead, I sat intently watching the hands of the clock move closer and closer to 2:15. Right when I thought I would scream if I heard another word on grammar in the English language, the bell rang and the school day was over.

I jumped up, shoved my books into my backpack, and was about to bolt out the door when Mr. Burr stopped me.

"Mr. Maxwell, if you can wait, I'd like to talk to you for a moment."

I stopped in my tracks. I was seriously two steps from the door and freedom. _As if I haven't already sacrificed enough of my life to this god-forsaken class,_ I thought as I turned and went over to Mr. Burr's desk. "Yes sir?"

He smiled at me. Mr. Burr was a short, thin man, who was so old he probably remembered the dinosaurs. He probably had even dated one or two of them.

"I need to talk to you about your grade for a minute, Mr. Maxwell," he said as he pulled out his grade book. "Your work these first few days has been excellent. Keep it up. However, since you came in after the beginning of the school year, you missed several assignments that were assigned the first few weeks of school. I don't see the point in giving you work that the rest of the class has already done, but you still need to make up those points that you missed. I'd like you to write a composition for me."

"A composition?" I asked, confused. "About what?"

Mr. Burr shrugged. "Surprise me. Write about something important to you. I want it to be no less than two pages typed, and try not to go over ten. It won't be worth too much, only fifty points or so. Does that sound okay?"

I nodded, even though I felt like crying at the idea of even more homework.

"Good," Mr. Burr nodded. "How about we say it's due next Friday, a week from tomorrow. Is that good for you?"

"Sure. Sounds great," I said. _Great big pain in the butt,_ I thought.

"Good. Have a nice evening. See you tomorrow."

I waved goodbye and dashed out of the room.

I was supposed to meet Jeff and everyone at the corner at the end of the block. I hoped I wasn't too late. _Of all the days Mr. Burr could have wanted to talk to me, of course he chose this one!_ I thought angrily.

When the corner came into view, I realized there was a huge crowd there. They are standing and watching something, and when I reached the edge of the crowd, I heard a familiar voice say "Don't you idiots have anything better to do than harass me?"

I was standing next to Kristen, so I leaned over and asked her, "What's going on?"

She giggled. "Oh, Jericho thought she'd be a little smart alack."

Confused, I pushed through the crowd, trying to get a better view. When I was right behind the kids making up the edge of the crowd, I saw Jericho standing close to the edge of the curb, and three of the guys Jeff and I sat with at lunch standing only a few feet from her. One of the guys was James.

"Com'n Fosty, open your mouth. What'd you say to me?" James demanded, taking a step towards her.

Jericho sneered. "Why should I repeat myself? The wit of it will be wasted on your walnut-sized brain."

"I'll give you one more chance, Fosty," James said, lunging at Jericho and grabbing her by her collar. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY TO ME?"

I frowned. I didn't like the way this was going. I looked around, but no one seemed ready to step in and stop it. Taking a deep breath, I made a move to push through the last couple of kids and break up Jericho and James, but someone's arm came across my chest, stopping me. It was Jeff. "Don't get involved, Duo," he said.

I stared at him, wondering why he was stopping me. But I didn't go anywhere, figuring Jeff knew what he was doing, and if he told me not to get involved, it was probably better for me not to.

Jericho was trying to pull free from James' grip. "Lemme go! Why can't you people just leave me alone?"

"What. Did. You. Say?" James hissed, pulling her so close to him that their noses were practically touching.

"I said that a snail will amount more to society than you," she replied. There was a fire in her eyes, but she spoke calmly. "And not just you, but all of you! You and your whole god-forsaken posse put together!"

"You little slut!" James cried. Jericho finally broke free from his hold on her collar and backed up a step or two.

"We're gonna have to teach her a lesson, aren't we, James?" one of the other guys asked.

Jericho snorted. "I don't think you guys have the certification to teach anyone anything."

"You think you're so smart," one of the guys snarled, grabbing her wrist. He yanked her around and flung her to James. She hit James, but he was ready, and he grabbed a hold of her wrist and flung her at the other guy. "Hey, Jericho, why don't you dance with us? It might help you loosen up."

I felt my face go red. That wasn't the way you were supposed to treat a girl, no matter how horrible her past was or how little you liked her. I once again moved to stop the conflict, but this time Brian stopped me. "For your own good Duo, stay put. You don't want to get on James' bad side."

I glared up at him, and he clamped his hand down on my shoulder, making sure I wouldn't go anywhere.

"Hey, what's this?" the second guy asked, pulling at a chain around Jericho's neck. As he pulled, out from under her shirt came a silver necklace. There was a large, oval charm on it.

"Leave that alone!" Jericho cried, trying to take a swing at the guy's face. He easily dodged the poorly placed punch and pushed Jericho backwards, still holding the necklace in his other hand. She fell to the ground, and the chain around her neck snapped.

"This has to stop!" I hissed to Jeff.

Jeff looked at me. "What can you do, Duo? Just stay out of it."

"Hey, I know, let's play monkey in the middle!" James cried. "Toss me the necklace!"

"Give it back!" Jericho cried, standing up. I noticed there were some blood spots on the ground where she had put her hand down to lift herself up. I frowned. This wasn't right, but with Jeff and Brian holding me back, I couldn't do anything about it.

James and the two guys started tossing the necklace back and forth between them while Jericho desperately tried to catch it in midair. Then, one of them missed the toss, and the necklace went flying out into the street. Jericho made a move to run out into the street to get it, but before she could, a huge van drove by, running over the necklace.

"NOOOOO!" Jericho screamed, her voice full of a haunting tone. After a moment she turned to James and the entire crowd. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but when she spoke her voice was steady. "You people are the scum of the earth. ALL OF YOU. None of you deserve the title human being. You're lower than dogs!" Her eyes moved over the crowd and fell on me. For the third or forth time since we had met, our eyes locked. The anger and hatred was replaced momentarily with a pain so deep and severe I thought I would start crying too. "You're all lower than dogs," she repeated, then turned on her heels and ran across the street.

We watched her run for a moment, and then James began to laugh. "That'll teach her. I'd like to see her insult us again." He turned and saw me. "Hey Duo! Thanks for being late! Gave us the opportunity to put Fosty back in her place."

Everyone chuckled and nodded in agreement that it was good that I had been late. I looked around at them all. Wasn't a single one of them disturbed like I was by what they had just seen?

"What did she do to you?" I asked James

"Who? Fosty? She insulted us," he grinned. "But who needs an excuse to deal with her?"

I frowned. "So one insult won her that much grief?" I demanded.

"Yeah," James said, and then he caught the look on my face. "Hey, Duo, listen. It's not like we're the only ones who do that to her. Everyone in school treats her like that. She basically asks for it!"

"So it's okay for you to go and harass her and destroy her stuff because other people do it?" I asked. I wasn't looking at James. I was watching cars drive by, some of them running over the broken necklace even more.

"Dude, Duo, listen, don't get involved," Jeff said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I turned to him. "So what James did to Jericho is okay with you?" I asked, looking at him.

"Well, I dunno. She does ask for it in everything she does. And if wasn't James, it would be someone else. And besides, it's not like she was really hurt or anything," Jeff said.

"It's just a little fun, Duo. She knows that," Brain said with a shrug

My jaw dropped and pulled away from him and Jeff. "It didn't look like Jericho found it all that fun, Jeff. In fact, it looked like she down right hated everything. And you know it. I can see it in your eyes. And you don't care at all. None of you care."

"Duo--" Jeff started, but I cut him off.

"No matter what your excuse is, she didn't deserve that kind of treatment," I replied as I turned from them. It was starting to rain. I watched as the rain hit the sidewalk, turning it a darker color.

"Duo, we get it. You don't think what happened was right. Now, com'n, let's go to my house and study for Math," Jeff said.

I turned to him. "I'm not feeling very good," I said. It wasn't a lie. I had been feeling nauseous since I saw that look in Jericho's eyes. "I'm gonna go home."

"Duo!" James said. I looked at him. "Listen, Duo, in this school, you can't let stuff like this get in the way of you making friends. Jericho chose her own path, and that's why she gets treated like this. It's her own fault. Don't feel bad for her. Don't head the way she did."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Ironic, the guy who'll amount to less than a snail giving me advice on my life. Sorry, but I think I'm gonna ignore you now. I'm going home."

Looking both ways, I stepped off the curb and walked across the street. There were no cars coming, so when I reached to where the broken necklace lay, I bent down and picked it up.

"DUO!" Jeff called to me, but I ignored him as I straightened up and kept walking.

_How could they treat someone like that? She's human too. God, I totally screwed up. How could I be friends with them? It looked like someone was killing her when that van ran over her necklace. _

It was raining fairly hard by the time I got home, and my hair was soaked. I guess I must have been walking slower than usual because when I finally reached home Diana's car was already in the driveway.

I went inside, closed the door, and leaned back against it.

"Hello? Who is it?" Diana's voice came from upstairs.

I didn't answer. I just kicked my shoes off and started up the stairs to my room. Diana came out of her study and gave me a funny look when she saw me. "Duo? What are you doing home so soon? I thought you were going over to Jeff's house."

I didn't answer her. I just stood at the top of the stairs, my hair dripping water onto the carpet and Jericho's broken necklace clutched in my fist. I supposed I looked a mess, but at the moment, that was the last thing on my mind.

"Duo? Is something wrong? Why are you all wet? Did you walk home in the rain?"

I sighed. "I don't feel too good," I said. "And I figured I could study just as well by myself."

"Oh, okay," Diana said, sounding relieved. "Well, if you don't feel well, why don't you go change into some dry clothes and lay down for a while, okay?"

"Okay," I answered as I headed to my room.

When I got to my room, I closed the door, tossed my backpack into the corner and began to undress. I pulled off my wet clothes and pulled on my priest outfit, even though it hadn't been washed yet. It was familiar and comfortable, and that's what I needed.

I collapsed onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling. I couldn't get the sound of Jericho screaming "NOOOO!" out of my head. The fight just kept replaying itself in my brain. Jericho asking them why they always bothered her. James grabbing her by her shirt and demanding to hear what she had said. The guys pushing her to each other. The guy pushing Jericho down and her necklace breaking. The blood on the sidewalk from her hand. The necklace flying into the street and being run over. Jericho screaming, then turning, crying, and yelling at the whole crowd before finally running away.

It had been horrible, and no one had stepped out to help her. I hadn't stepped out to help her. I sighed. Even a dog would have run in and tried to protect her. _She's right,_ I thought. _We are lower than dogs._

Her scream kept echoing in my ears. The haunting sound of it sounded so familiar to me. But where had I heard it before? I closed my eyes and tried to think. Where had I heard a scream that sounded like someone's soul was being wrenched in two? The only person I knew who had ever come close to that sound had been…

Me. I sat up like a bolt of lighting. I had made that exact scream of pain and loss when I had watched as my Gundam Deathscythe was destroyed. I had stood in the middle of the colony and screamed out in pain and suffering and loss and despair. Deathscythe had been the only thing in my life that meant anything to me, besides Hilde.

I looked down at the necklace I still had clutched in my hand. This necklace had meant a lot to Jericho — more than I had first thought. I opened my hand and looked at the necklace. It was golden, and the charm was fairly large. It was an oval, and was about half the size of my palm. There was a golden rose on one side, which I assumed was the front. It had been pretty bashed up and flattened by the traffic, but it was still pretty. I noticed that there were hinges on one side. Frowning, I tried to open it, but I couldn't. I grabbed a pen from thy desk and used that to pry it open. It opened, and inside there were two pictures. One was a black and white photo of a bride and groom. The bride looked an awful lot like Jericho. The other picture was in color and was of the same couple with a little girl in a Girl Scout uniform.

"It's a locket," I murmured. "Who are these people?"

After a few minutes of staring at the pictures, I got up and slid the locket into a pocket in my backpack. _I'll give it to her tomorrow_, I decided.

That night at dinner, Diana and Jon talked about their days. I only half listened as I ate. I was thinking about the locket and Jericho.

"Oh, Duo," Diana said, pulling me out of my reverie. "Please don't make any plans for Sunday. Our friends, the Van Burens, are coming over for dinner. They have a daughter your age; she's a very nice girl. I think you'll get along well."

"Van Buren…that name sounds familiar," I said.

"Well, you met Megan, the mother, a few days ago. She told me she met you while you were out walking Benny."

"Oh yeah, they live in that huge Victorian-looking house with the tower, right?" I asked, remembering the woman clipping her hedges.

"Yes, that's right. They're looking forward to coming over and getting to know you better."

"Don't worry, I'll be here." I cleaned my plate. "May I be excused? I need to go study some more."

"Sure thing Duo," Jon said with a smile.

I went upstairs and sat down on my bed, my math book and notebook in my lap. I studied until I didn't think I could stand anymore, and then I switched to other homework. When that was done, I laid down on the bed with my math book. I woke up the following morning, finding that I had fallen asleep in my clothes and had drooled a little on a page talking about polynomials.


	10. Chapter Ten: Flash Back

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters of it. I wish I did, because then I could marry Duo sigh (you know you need a boy friend when you start fantasizing about cartoon characters at the age of 18...You know you need a life when you're working onfan fiction about sed characters for five hours a day. :) )

ENJOY! And please review!

* * *

_**Chapter Ten: Flash Back**_

Jericho wasn't in school the next day. I looked for her before Homeroom and again during History. She was no where to be found.

The math test wasn't hard, and I finished early. While I sat quietly in my seat waiting for the period to be over, I thought about Jericho. _Maybe she'll be at lunch,_ I thought.

After Math, Jeff caught up with me in the hall. I mentally groaned. I had been hoping I wouldn't have to deal with him and the others that day. "Hey, Duo, you think you did okay on the test?" he asked as if everything was just like it had been the day before.

"Yeah, I did fine. It was easy," I replied, looking straight ahead and not at him.

"That's good…Listen, Duo, the guys and I were talking last night, and we're not gonna let what happened yesterday affect our view of you. You're new around here, and you don't understand the way things work."

I stopped in my tracks and turned to him. "Wait, let me get this straight," I said. "You're not gonna let what **_I_** did affect your view of **_me_**? Hello, Jeff, I'm not the one who was shoving a girl around for kicks!"

Jeff frowned. "Duo, listen, you don't understand how things work around here--"

"No, you're wrong Jeff. I understand perfectly how things work around here. And I don't like it one bit. And what I don't like, I fight."

"You're gonna fight a whole school?" Jeff asked.

I shrugged and gave Jeff a bitter smile. "Wouldn't be the first time the odds were against me. Now," I said, shifting my bag on my shoulder, "If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna be late to Phys Ed."

I turned and stalked to my next class.

Jericho wasn't in lunch either. I didn't sit with Jeff and all them, and I noticed that James was glaring at me as I walked by. I felt tempted to drop my tray and launch myself at his jugular vein. I'd show him what it felt like to be treated like dirt. Controlling myself, I went and sat at the table that Jericho usually sat at. I ate my sandwich and drank my lemonade in silence.

When I got to Biology, I once again sat at the table where Jericho normally sat. It was the only other free seat in the classroom besides the seat at Jeff and Brian's table, and I didn't feel like sitting next to them. The teacher was taking down the names of science fair project groups. I sighed. I didn't want to work with Brian and Jeff. Luckily, the teacher asked me who was in my group before she asked them.

"I guess I'm gonna work by myself," I told her. Across the room, Jeff and Brian reacted with shock.

After she took down the names, she looked over the list. "Is anyone working with Jericho?"

"Probably not," one girl replied. "She always works alone on stuff like this."

The teacher shrugged and continued the lecture from where she had left off the day before.

When I got home, I put Benny out on his run instead of taking him for a walk. It was Friday, and I didn't much feel like doing anything outside the house. Benny seemed disappointed about not going for a walk, but he didn't complain.

I went into the front room and turned on the radio to a rock station and lay down on the couch on my back. I closed my eyes and zoned out, trying not to think about anything, especially Jericho or the kids at school.

_The nurses had moved me to a quieter waiting room off the main waiting room. I guess all the activity in the main waiting room had been making me edge because they had said something about how me being in that room was a better arrangement for everyone involved. _

"_Duo! Are you all right? We came as soon as we heard." Quatre hurried into the room, followed by Relena. "We contacted Heero and the others. They're on their way from the hotel. Is there anything we can do?" Quatre asked._

"_Yeah, you can stay here with me," I said, my voice shaking a little. _

"_Sure thing, Duo." They sat down, Quatre on my right, Relena on my left. _

_Heero, Trowa, WuFei, and Sally all hurried in a few minutes later. _

"_What happened Duo?" Trowa asked as Sally left again to find out what was going on._

"_Hilde and I were going home from the park. She ran ahead, and didn't look where she was going. There was a car. It was a red light, but there was a car anyway. It didn't stop. Hilde…" I stopped, not wanting to say what had happened next._

"_Is Hilde alright?" Heero asked._

_I shook my head. "I don't know. She was conscience until just before the ambulance got there, but then she blacked out..." I took a deep breath. _

_Sally came back just then. "Duo, there's a doctor outside. He says he has news about Hilde. Do you want him to come in here, or do you want to go out into the hall and talk to him?"_

"_Send him in," I replied, standing up. I was shaking. _Dear God, please let it be good news_, I silently prayed. _

_The doctor came in. "Are you Duo Maxwell?" he asked._

"_Yes, I am," I replied._

"_I'm Doctor Tisdale. What relationship do you have with Miss Shubieker?"_

"_I'm her boyfriend. How's Hilde?"_

_The doctor took a deep breath and met my eyes. They were filled with more sympathy than I had ever seen before. "I'm sorry, Mr. Maxwell…"_

"_Oh God," I gasped. "Oh God, no!" My knees buckled and I fell over. WuFei managed to catch me in his arms._

"_NO!" I screamed and I slammed my fists into WuFei's shoulders, as if hitting him could possibly lessen my pain. "NO!" I hit WuFei again._

"NO!"

I woke up shouting and hitting at the air with my fists. I glanced around me, unable to remember where I was for a minute. Then, as I became more awake, I remembered that I was on the couch of the Christopher's front room.

I sat up and rubbed my face with my hands. My cheeks were wet. I had been crying in my sleep. _As if this wasn't already one of the most stressful days of my life, now I have to start having flash backs again…_

I realized my hands were shaking. My whole body was shaking. I stood up and went into the kitchen, grabbing the cordless phone off the wall.

I sighed and slumped to the floor, leaning back against the fridge. The flash back had been so real. I felt like the doctor had just given me the news for the first time. Dr. Thomas had said that having flash backs was normal, but it had been more than two months since the accident. Wouldn't the flash backs have stopped after that much time? They **had** stopped. They had stopped two weeks after the accident. So why were they starting up again?

Maybe they weren't starting up again. Maybe the stress of the day had just triggered that one randomly. Maybe it wasn't something I should worry about. Maybe I didn't have to call Heero about it.

No. I had to call Heero. That was our agreement. I was supposed to call him whenever I had a flash back about anything, just so that someone would know. Where was he? I remembered him mentioning a conference at the Sanc Kingdom coming up. Maybe he and Relena were there…

I picked up the phone and dialed 0.

"Operator, how may I help you?"

"Yeah," I said. "I want to connect to the Sanc Kingdom."

"One moment please," the operator said. There was static for a moment, and then a voice prompt came up asking for me to dial the number I wanted.

I punched in the number without having to think about it. My hand was still shaking, but somehow I managed to hit all the right numbers. The phone on the other end rang twice before it was answered.

"Thank you for calling the Peacecraft School of Politics. How may I help you?"

"Hi, this is Duo Maxwell. I'm a friend of Minister Darlian's. I need to speak with her." I figured that if I could find Relena, Heero wouldn't be too far away.

"What's the nature of this call?" The secretary asked.

"It's nothing business related, but it's very important. I just need to talk to her for a few minutes." I finished. I was tempted to say that it was a social call but how could it be a social call when I wanted to talk to the most anti-social person in the world?

"I'm sorry, but the Vice Foreign Minister is in a meeting with several very important diplomats, and she can't be disturbed."

"You don't understand," I said through clenched teeth. I wasn't in the mood to be told to call back. "This is important.Just tell her it's Duo Maxwell."

"I'm sorry, sir, but--"

"JUST TELL HER!"

The secretary sighed. "Just a moment." I was put on hold with corny elevator-sounding music playing on the line.

"Hello, Duo?" Relena's voice suddenly broke the music just as I was getting into the song. "This is a surprise, and I'm glad you called, but I'm sorry, I can't talk at the moment, I'm in the middle of a meeting—"

I cut her off. "That's okay Relena. Actually, I need to talk to Heero. Is he there?"

"Heero? Yes, Heero's here. Let me hand him the phone."

I could just picture the scene. Vice Foreign Minister Darlain talking on the phone while a huge round table of delegates sit patiently, waiting for her to politely explain that she was unable to speak at the moment. Then, to the surprise of everyone in the room, she turns stands up, excuses herself for a moment, goes to the door, and hands the phone to her young bodyguard that is standing just outside the door. I could just picture the look of disbelief on the faces of the other delegates. It made me smile a little.

"Yes?"

"Hey, Heero buddy!" I said.

"Duo."

"Boy, you're just as talkative as ever, I see," I said, grinning.

"What do you want Duo? I'm busy right now," Heero said.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the fridge. "I had another flash back."

Heero was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, I could hear the shift in priorities in his voice. Being Relena's bodyguard was suddenly second, and being my friend was first. "When?"

"Just about fifteen minutes ago," I replied.

"What was it about?" he asked.

"The hospital. The waiting room. You know, when the doctor came in…" My voice was shaking again. If I wasn't careful, the flashback could come back. That had happened before, for me to have a flashback when I was telling Heero about a different one.

"Take a deep breath, Duo. You'll be fine. Do you know what triggered this one?"

"No. Well, nothing specific. Stress maybe?" I suggested.

"Hn. Has it been that stressful on Earth?" Heero asked.

I snorted. "Stressful doesn't begin to scratch the surface, buddy."

"I'm sorry I'm not there. If I was, I'd drag you to the park and make you play catch or something."

I laughed at that idea. It would normally be me dragging Heero to the park to play catch, and he'd probably end up pulling a gun on me and marching me back home.

"You're laughing," he observed. "So you can't be that badly shaken. Go do something to get your mind off it. And if you're still having problems later, call me back."

He gave me his cell phone number, and we said goodbye.

I hung up the phone feeling much better. I took Heero's advice and went upstairs to the den and turned on MTV. I zoned out for the next hour or so watching music videos. I didn't tell Jon or Diana about the flash back. I didn't want to worry them.

That night when I got into bed, I pulled Jericho's locket out of my backpack and looked at the pictures in it again. They were such innocent pictures. The married couple looked so in love, and the family looked so happy. I fell asleep with the locket in my hand and dreamed of being part of a happy, loving family for once.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Dinner with the Van Bure...

_**Chapter Eleven: Dinner with the Van Burens**_

"I washed your favorite outfit, Duo, so you can wear that today." Diana was standing in the middle of my room, holding a basket of clean laundry under one arm. "Everything else in this basket I want folded and put away. You're sixteen--"

"Seventeen," I corrected, peeking out from under my pillow with one eye.

"Sixteen according to the government's records," Diana shot back. "Either way, you're old enough to be able to take care of your clothes. And I want all these dirty clothes on your floor in the bathroom hamper when I come back up here in half an hour, got it? The Van Burens are going to want to see your room, and I want them to actually see the _room_ and not a pigsty."

"Okay," I mumbled. I really just wanted to go back to sleep for another few hours.

"I'm gonna leave now so you can get up. But if I come back up here and you're _still_ in bed, heads will roll, starting with yours. I'm not joking this time."

"Sure."

Diana had been trying to wake me up all morning. Now, at one in the afternoon, she had finally had it. It was the first time she had really put her foot down since I had moved in. She had been pretty easy going up until now. I guess having company over was important to her.

She left the room, closing the door behind her. Groaning, I flung my comforter off and pulled my head out from under my pillow. Sunlight was streaming through my window, illuminating a big square on the carpet. It was a nice day out.

I stood up and stretched, reveling in the feel of various joints cracking through out my body. I stooped down, gathered all my dirty clothes up into one huge bundle. Then, grabbing my towel and the clothes I was going to wear that day, I headed to the bathroom.

I dumped my dirty clothes into the hamper, stripped off my boxers and the t-shirt I slept in and stepped into the shower.

The hot water felt good against my skin, and I thought that if I couldn't stay in bed all day, the shower would be the next best thing. But the Christophers had to pay for their water, so I didn't take any longer than I had to with washing my body and my hair.

When I was done, I dried off and got dressed in my priest-like outfit. It was funny: Hilde had gone out and bought me a ton of new clothes so that I wouldn't have to wear the same outfit everyday, but I still wore my priest outfit as often as possible. I guess there are somethings even the God of Death can't let go over easily.

I straightened up my room, made my bed, and vacuumed the carpet. Since I didn't have too much stuff my room wasn't a complete mess, and Diana was satisfied when she came back upstairs to check on my progress.

"Good job Duo," she said, patting me on the shoulder. She eyed my hair that was still wet and still needed to be brushed and braided. "Would you like to borrow my hair dryer?"

I shook my head and grabbed my brush up off my desk. "Nah. If I braid it when it's wet, it'll stay in better."

"Suit yourself," she said with a shrug and went back down stairs.

I brushed and braided my hair and then went down stairs. Benny was sitting in the middle of the front hall, looking quite dejected.

"Hey Benny, wanna go for a walk?" I asked him as I bent over and patted his golden head. He licked my hand in answer.

I took Benny for a walk and when we got back, there was an incredible smell coming from the kitchen. I went in to find Diana reading a cookbook and Jon mixing something in a bowl.

"Hey, Duo, come over here and stir this stuff for a while," Jon said, holding the bowl out to me.

"Mmmkay," I said, taking the bowl from him and sitting down on a stool. "What's for dinner?"

"Leg of lamb," Diana replied. "Jericho's favorite."

I nearly dropped the bowl. "Jericho?"

"Yes, the Van Burens' daughter, Jericho. Do you know her?" Diana asked when she saw my face.

"Yeah, she's in a few of my classes at school," I replied.

"Good! This will be an opportunity for you two to get to know each other better. She's a nice girl, but I don't think she has many friends."

_I know she doesn't,_ I thought. I couldn't believe it. Out of all the families in town, Jericho's had to be the one to come over for dinner. At least I wouldn't have to give her the locket back at school. But this also meant I had to spend four or five hours with the girl who thought I was lower than a dog.

I sighed. I had a feeling I was about to develop a new respect for diplomats.

The Van Burens arrived right at three-thirty, just as had been arranged. I answered the door and asked them in. Diana and Jon came out from the kitchen and greeted Megan, David, and Jericho with hugs—well, Jon and David shook hands. Then they introduced me. I exchanged warm handshakes and smiles with Megan and David, but when I shook Jericho's hand, I felt like I was shaking a stone. And while I gave her a genuine smile, her smile was forced and almost sarcastic looking. I tried to ignore her cold glare, and I hoped the adults wouldn't notice it.

"Where's Benny?" Jericho asked as soon as we let go.

"He's outside on his run," Diana said as Jon led Megan and David into the front room. "Duo, why don't you take Jericho out to see Benny?"

"Okay," I said. We went out the sliding glass doors in the dining room and out on to the patio. I closed the door as Jericho walked over and greeted Benny.

I watched her for a moment before joining her. She was wearing a nice pair of black pants and a pretty dark blue top that looked really good on her. Her hair had been pulled back into a low ponytail. I had noticed when we had shaken hands that she had band-aids over the cuts she had gotten on Thursday. Finally, sighing, I walked over to her and Benny.

"You weren't in school on Friday," I said.

"My, my," Jericho replied coolly, not looking up at me as she petted Benny. "Aren't we the master of the obvious?"

"Were you sick?" I asked.

"No," she replied, now scratching Benny behind the ears. "I was at a competition."

"Really? Whatsort of competition?"

"Visual Art and Design. I had stuff entered in a couple of different categories."

"Cool! Did you win anything?" I asked.

She didn't answer.

I cleared my throat. "So, um, how's your hand? You hurt it on Thursday, right?"

"Yeah, I did. It's healing. Why do you care?" she asked, standing up. Her voice was cold, but not hateful. I saw that as a good sign.

I shrugged. "I was just wondering."

"Well, wonder no more."

We stood in silence for a while. Jericho was still devoting all her attention to Benny who was soaking it up like a sponge. Uncomfortable, I stuck my hands into my pockets and felt the locket I had put in the pocket. I had almost forgotten it was in there.

I cleared my throat, and Jericho and Benny both turned their eyes to me.

"Jericho, I…I'm really sorry about what happened on Thursday."

She laughed, a bitter, forced laugh. "Don't be sorry. It happens all the time."

"So since it happens all the time, I shouldn't care or be sorry?" I asked.

"None of your friends do, why should you?" she replied.

I shook my head. "You've got it wrong. I don't make friends with people who treat others like dirt for fun. 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you', and all that jazz. Here." I pulled the crushed locket out of my pocket andheldit out to Jericho.

She took it and looked down at it. "Where did you get this?" she asked. She looked pretty close to tears.

"In the street, after you left. I felt really sorry about what happened, and I figured the least I could do was give it back to you."

She looked up at me. "If you were so sorry, why did you let it happen?" she demanded.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't find anything to say that would be a good enough answer. "I guess I just didn't want my friends to think I wasn't cool," I said, my cheeks burning with shame. "I'm really sorry."

"Hn," Jericho said with a slight smile. "You should wear that priest outfit more often. You're nicer when you wear it. More honest, at any rate." She paused as if thinking for a moment. "If you really are sorry," she said, "You can prove it by not becoming one of them."

"One of them?" I asked.

"One of James' lackeys. All those people who just adore him and look up to him and hang out with him, and don't step in to stop him when he's picking on kids who don't fit into his idea of normal."

I looked at her without speaking. Her face was set with a determined and hopeful look. _She's pretty_, I realized with a shock, _but she doesn't know it._ Something told me that if she had known she was pretty, things would have been much different for her. "Deal," I said. "I'll be your lackey instead of James's"

Jericho let out a loud, happy laugh. "No, I don't have lackeys. I have friends. Will that work for you?"

I shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat, kiddo," I said with a grin.

"Alright, then maybe we should start all over, eh what?" she asked. She backed up a step and put her hands on her hips. "So, why are you wearing it if you're not a priest and you're not studying to be a priest?"

I smiled, remembering our first conversation. "I have my reasons. I suppose you're gonna tell me that impersonating a member of the clergy is illegal now?"

"Nah. Diana's gonna call us into dinner in…three…two…one." Jericho snapped her fingers as Diana's voice came calling from the house, "Duo! Jericho! Dinner's ready. Come in and wash your hands. And bring Benny with you!"

My jaw dropped and I stared at Jericho who was standing there, smiling smugly at me. "Coming Diana!" I called. I let Benny off his run and we went inside.

It felt so good to be on good terms with Jericho. It had actually been a lot easier to talk to her than I thought it would be. And she was happy to have her locket back, even though it was pretty well ruined.

"Look what Duo found, Mom," Jericho said as we sat down at the dinner table.

"You're locket! Oh, what happened to it?" Megan asked as she looked at what was left of the necklace.

"Duo found it in the street. I guess the chain must've broke and it fell off on my way home from school. It was getting old anyway," Jericho said with a sad shrug.

"Well, Jericho, you should be more attentive with your things. At least the pictures weren't ruined. But really the chain wasn't that old. We just got if a few months ago; I don't see how it could have broken…"

I opened my mouth to speak up and say exactly what had happened to the necklace, but I caught Jericho's eye. She gave me a pleading look and she shook her head very slightly. She didn't want me to tell her mom. I gave her a questioning look, and then the light came on in my head. She hadn't told her mom about what had happened on Thursday, and she didn't want her mom to know. So I shut my mouth without saying anything.

After the meal, I took the Van Burens up to see my room. The adults only seemed politely interested, but Jericho was fascinated with it. She examined the diagram of the space colonies on the wall above my desk. "Wow, cool! I was looking at one of these at the planetarium a few weeks ago," she breathed. "But I got a poster of Jupiter instead—more color, you know?"

"Jericho loves anything that has to do with astronomy," Diana explained to me.

"Jericho loves anything that has to do with anything," Megan corrected. "You should see some of the books she brought home from that last discount book sale, Diana. One was a book on Aerodynamics; another was an old calculus textbook. I think she brought home a few books of foreign poetry, only one of which had English translations. And she's already finished most of the books she bought that are in English…" she kept talking, but I stopped listening. I walked over and stood next to Jericho. She was still looking at the Space Colony poster.

"I have a friend that I think you'd get along with," I told her. "He loves books. He has a rare book collection that he keeps under lock and key."

"Really? Maybe I should take up lock picking for my next hobby," she said, a mischievous look coming over her face.

"You will do no such thing, young lady!" Megan cried.

"Yes ma'am," Jericho sighed.

As soon as the adults were talking again, I leaned over closer to Jericho. "I can teach you how to pick locks, if you want," I whispered.

Jericho's eyes lit up and she nodded.

When it was time for the Van Burens to go home, Jon, Diana, and I walked them to the door and said goodbye.

"See ya tomorrow, Duo," Jericho said as she stepped outside.

"Yep. See ya tomorrow," I answered. I waved good-bye and Jon closed the door.

"Well, that went much better than I originally thought," Diana said as she went into the kitchen to start the dishes.

"What do you mean?" I asked, following her.

"Well, with the look Jericho was giving you when she first got here, I could have sworn she thought you were lower than dirt," Diana replied. I winced and wondered if Diana had any idea how close she was to the truth.

"But she was definitely pleased with you when she left," Jon added. "I guess finding her locket won you her favor." He winked at me.

Diana rolled her eyes and hit Jon with a dish towel playfully. "Duo, do you have homework?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you go do it."

"Cause I don't want to?" I replied with a charming little grin.

Diana laughed. "That wasn't a question, Duo. That was an order."

"Yes ma'am!" I laughed, giving her a mock salute. I then turned and went upstairs and did my homework.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Setting a Precedent

Sorry about the long time between updates. Crazy life and all that jazz.

I saw in other stories people doing this nifty foot notes thing, so I'm gonna start doing it too. A number in brackets (like this: 1 ) after a sentence or something means that there is a foot note down at the bottom of the chapter to explain mre deeply what I'm getting at. You don't usually need to read the foot notes to understand the story, and most of the time they're just me trying to explain my odd-ball humor or some such thing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing…I wish I did though…starts on day dram about Duo…

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_**Chapter Twelve: Setting a Precedent **_

Monday morning before homeroom, I was at my locker getting out the books I would need for my morning classes. I suddenly sensed someone standing behind me. I turned and saw that it was Jeff.

"Hey Duo," he said genially, leaning up against the locker next to mine. "What's up?"

"The sun," I replied flatly, standing up.

He chuckled. "I mean besides that." I didn't respond. He sighed. "Duo, Brian and I are wondering why you suddenly don't want to work on the science fair project with us. I mean, what's with the total 180?"

"I told you on Friday, I understand how things here work, and I don't want to be a part of it." I closed my locker and turned to walk away when Jeff grabbed my arm.

"Duo, listen. If you're not part of it, then you're the victim of it. That's how it works with James. If you don't stay on his good side, Duo, you're gonna be the next one getting tossed around like a bean bag."

"Jeff, why would you want to be friends with a guy who treats people like that?" I asked, pulling my arm from him, but not walking away.

Jeff didn't have an answer. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no sound came out.

"That's what I thought," I said, and I turned and walked away.

It's amazing how fast news travels in high schools. I thought word had gotten around fast that there was a new student from the colonies in the school, but news that the same student had refused friendship of the most popular guy in the school traveled at light speed. During History, I kept noticing people sending me strange looks. Normally I didn't mind being the center of attention, but this was definitely attention I was not interested in having. People were whispering to their friends and pointing at me. When I passed groups in the hall, they would suddenly fall silent and wait for me to pass before they continued talking.

After something like that happened for the fifth time, I stopped and turned to the group.

"You know," I said, smiling smugly. "It's probably none of my business, but if I was gossiping about someone, I wouldn't make it so obvious."

My comment was answered with a series of glares, eye rolls, and reddening cheeks.

The lunchroom was even worse. I was getting even more attention than I had the first day I had come.

I sat down at the table Jericho was sitting at by herself. She looked up, slightly startled and raised her eyebrow at me. "You were serious, weren't you?" she asked.

I sent her a questioning look and took a bite out of my sandwich.

"You really would rather be my friend then theirs?" she asked, nodding across the lunchroom to Jeff and James's table.

"Yeah. Why not?" I asked, shrugging.

She opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but stopped, shook her head and smirked. "Do you have peanut butter and jelly for lunch everyday?"

"Yeah," I said through a mouthful of food.

She grinned at me and without asking, took the untouched half of my sandwich and traded it with half of her sandwich.

I raised a questioning eyebrow and looked to see what the sandwich she had given me was. It was tuna fish with lettuce and tomato.

"You need some variety in your diet," she said. "No wonder you're so thin. PB and J on white bread doesn't make much more than glue in your stomach 1. At least the tomato on that will give you some vitamins."

"I didn't ask you to be my personal dietician," I snorted, not bothering to hide my amusement.

Jericho frowned. "You should fire whoever is. They're not doing their job. You look like you could stand to gain a few pounds."

I laughed, but secretly I was surprised. The doctor I had seen right before coming to Earth had told me the same thing.

Jericho and I talked about nothing in particular that lunch period. I told her a little about what the colonies, and she told me about the town we lived in. She was obviously not that impressed with the town, but she seemed to enjoy the academic part of school and there was a near by college that she liked. She had taken some classes there, she said, and she was really looking forward to college in a few years. We talked about hobbies and things we spent our time doing.

"I don't really have friends," Jericho said. "So I spend a lot of time on school work. And when I'm not doing school work, I'm usually working on projects."

"What kind of projects?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "Depends. You'll have to come over and see them sometime. I think you'd like some of them."

"Okay."

I sat with Jericho during Biology as well. When the teacher verified the science fair groups, Jericho seemed surprised that I was working by myself. Later while we were taking notes, Jericho slid a piece of paper across the tabletop to me. I looked down at it: _Why aren't you working with anyone for the science fair project?_

I wrote back: _Because I was going to work with Brian and Jeff, but I changed my mind. I don't know anyone else to work with._ I slid the note back to her when the teacher wasn't looking.

Jericho read it and frowned. A few minutes later, she sent the paper back to me. _You could work with me if you want. Two heads are better than one. _

I gulped. The idea of working with Jericho made my stomach jump a little. _I could, but I thought you always worked alone on projects like this. That's what people say anyway._

I slid the note to her, and it was returned in under a minute. _I have worked alone,_ she had written. …_until now. We could set a precedent. First time in the history of the school that Jericho Van Buren willingly works with another person._

Grinning, I wrote back: _Sounds like we're a team. So, what's our project gonna be on?_

Jericho read my note then shrugged. She didn't write the reply, but instead leaned closer to me when the teacher wasn't looking. "We can talk about that later," she whispered.

I nodded and silently wondered when later would be.

The week passed without too much problem. I still missed the colonies and my friends like there was no tomorrow, but Jericho made my homesickness less severe. She was kind of a quirky kid to get right down to it. She was smart, and she didn't hide it, but she didn't show it off either. She liked to laugh and joke, but she could handle very serious conversation too, something I still had a problem with. I could stand only so much of a serious conversation before cracking a joke or making a sarcastic remark. During history, Jericho excelled in the discussions, asking questions or supplying arguments. She could hold her own in a debate. She was nice and polite, and she was pleasant to most of the other kids in the school, even though they usually ignored her or glared at her. The only people she openly despised were James and his closest circle of friends. Several times in the halls she would be tripped, shoved, or have the books knocked out of her hands by one of James' lackeys. She would glare at them, sometimes mumble something under her breath about them, and then keep walking as if the whole hall wasn't laughing at her. If I had been her, I would have hauled off and clobbered the jerks that harassed her, but she never did, and she held me back the one or two times I nearly jumped one of them.

"Why don't you ever let me get at them?" I demanded one morning when she held me back from punching the lights out of one of James's lackeys.

"You're a foster kid," she replied. "If you got into a fight, you'd be blamed, and then you'd be sent away. They don't like foster kids around here. They really don't. This town is big on keeping up appearances, and foster kids aren't exactly known for having the best reputations."

During lunch, Jericho spent a lot of her time working on homework or reading. The books she read were really strange, and it was never the same book two days in a row. The subjects she read on ranged from Physics to literature to history and culture and back again. A lot of the books looked old and worn, and even fewer of them had any pictures or an easy-to-read print size. But she practically soaked up the information like a sponge.

We decided that on Friday, Jericho would come over to the Christopher's after Diana got home so that we could toss around ideas for the science fair project together. Diana got home around three-thirty. I hadn't taken Benny for a walk, so I took him along while I went to get Jericho.

The Van Burens house looked rather large from the street, but as I walked up the front walk to it, I realized it was **huge**. It wasn't just a Victorian house—it bordered on being a Victorian mansion. There was a tower on one side of the house that reminded me of a castle from a fairytale. I rang the doorbell, and it sounded like an old doorbell with the electric buzz and everything.

Megan answered the door. "Hi Duo. Come on in. Bring Benny too."

I stepped inside and she closed the door behind me. Megan took Benny's leash from me. "Jericho's in her Atrium," she said. "She asked for me to send you back there when you got here."

"Her…Atrium?" I asked. "What's that?"

Megan smiled. "Go into the library," she said, pointing to a door at the end of the hall, "And go through the door on the other side of it. That'll take you right there."

"Oo...Kay," I said, slightly nervous. Megan laughed, assured me that there was nothing to be scared of. She and Benny then disappeared through a door.

I went through the door she had pointed out to me and found my self in a large room. The walls were all lined with bookcases, most of which were full of books. There was a fireplace at one side of the room, and a beautiful set of easy chairs, a couch, and a fainting couch were placed about the room. At the opposite side of the room from the hall door was another door.

I went through the door and it led me into another room, this one also full of bookshelves. This room had a few desks though, with books open on them and papers strewn everywhere. Stopping at one desk, I recognized Jericho's handwriting covering one of the pieces of paper. The book it was lying on was written in French. It looked like Jericho had been taking notes on different vocabulary words in the book. Another desk contained a large atlas of the world. I flipped through it and saw that Jericho had marked up a lot of the maps with different colored lines and dots. She had marked them using a very specific system, but the abbreviations she had used made whatever she had meant by the marks a mystery to me. On the window seat of the huge picture window in one wall there was a sketchpad. I picked it up and looked through it. It was full of sketches of trees and flowers in the front, but the later pages were full of what looked like sketches and blueprints for some sort of hang glider or something.

There was yet another door on the other side of the room. Hanging on the door was a hand-painted sign that read "Please ring bell". A rope hung at the side of the door. Reaching over, I pulled the rope and heard a clanging bell sound from the other side of the door.

"Coming!" I heard Jericho's voice call from somewhere beyond the door. A few moments later, the door opened. "Come on in!"

I stepped through the door and took a deep breath of surprise.

* * *

1) It's true. PB&J on white bread isn't good for you. Peanut butter is really high in fat, and white bread doesn't have any nutritious value to it. It seriously makes flour paste in your stomach. And Jelly is really high in sugar and low in anything else, so that just makes a sticky goop mess in your stomach too. Tuna fish is a lot better for you—if you ignore the fact that eating too much of it will give you mercury poisoning…but that's another foot note 


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Atrium and Idea

Disclaimer: No ownage of Gundam Wing or its affiliated characters on my part. I do own this story and my original characters though.

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_**Chapter Thirteen: Atrium and Idea**_

I had walked into another world. The door led to a large room that had a ceiling made mostly of glass. The room was the size as the two rooms I had passed through put together, and the glass ceiling made to room look even bigger. On the far side of the room was a pair of glass doors that opened up to the back yard. There was a drawing table, a sewing machine and a couple of tables that were filled with cloth, art supplies, and lots of other random stuff arranged around the room.

Hundreds of objects hung from the ceiling. Some of them were mobiles that caught and reflected light that came in thorough the windows. Others were models of airplanes and mobile suits and space shuttles. But the most amazing objects were three butterfly-shaped objects made of brightly colored cloth that hung in front of some of the windows, creating a stained-glass effect with their wings. They were each at least four feet across, if not more.

Jericho was standing next to me, holding the door open. Her brown hair had been gathered back into a messy bun, and her sleeves had been pushed up above her elbows. A pair of overalls that were spattered with paint and had holes in the knees had replaced her jeans. She smiled at me and let the door swing free from her hand. It closed with a soft bang.

"Hey Duo," she finally said when my shock had worn off enough for me to understand what she was saying. "Welcome to my atrium. I was wondering when you'd get here. I just need to finish the repairs I'm doing, and then we can go."

I didn't answer her. I was still too much in awe of the space to speak.

She giggled. "Try to reattach your jaw to your head before your face freezes like that," she said, still giggling as she gently pushed my mouth closed with two fingers. "Before you ask, I call this place my atrium because of everything I have hanging from the ceiling. See? I have all my models, and my mobiles—well, they don't have to do with the sky, but they do move in the air, and they just look nifty. And those over there," she continued, pointing at the butterfly-like objects. "Those are my babies."

"What are they?" I asked, moving over to stand under them so I could have a better look at them.

"Kites," she replied. "I designed, built, tested, and entered competitions with them."

"Kite flying competitions?" I asked.

"No, silly! Design contests," she laughed. "Here, lemme finish fixing this telescope and I'll be ready to go."

I turned to see her sitting down at one of her worktables. She had an old-fashioned, collapsible telescope in her hands, taken apart and laid on the table in front of her. Piece by piece, she reassembled the telescope. "I found this telescope at a garage sale. The person selling it said it didn't work any more, so they gave it to me for like fifty cents. I took it apart, and figured out that one of the lenses was missing and another was cracked. So I ordered new lenses online, and they just came today," she explained. With the last turn of a screw, she grinned and turned to me. "There we go, all fixed. Here." She held it out to me. "Try it out."

I took the telescope from her and looked out on of the windows with it. "Hey! There's a robin's nest in that tree across the yard," I said, examining the line of trees that marked the end of the Van Buren's property.

"How do you know it's a robin's nest?" Jericho asked, taking the telescope from me and looking for herself.

"Because it's a robin sitting in it," I replied, sticking my tongue out at her. Then after a moment, I added, "It's really cool that you fixed that telescope. I wish I could do stuff like that."

Jericho smiled and folded the telescope up. "It's not that hard," she replied. "You just need to figure out what's wrong and then get the materials to fix it."

I looked around the room, taking in everything. It was so bizarre. Here I was, standing in a house on Earth, but I felt like I was in a completely different part of the universe. Jericho had created her own little world in that room. She was a weird kid. It was like everyday I was finding a new version of Jericho.

"So," I asked her. "Who are you really?"

She raised an eyebrow at me. "That's a weird question." Then she grinned. "I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. It's something you need to find out on your own. But first, you need to…" she stopped and shook her head. "Never mind. You'll just figure out who I am as you get to know me better."

I gave her a questioning look, but she didn't see it. She opened the door and we went back through the two library rooms to the front hall.

An hour later, we were sitting in my room at the Christopher's, eating nachos that Diana had made for us and discussing different project ideas. We suggested ideas like a rat maze, an exhibit on pollution, demonstrations of chemistry experiments, and an insect zoo. We didn't really like any of them.

"Most of these ideas are either lame or have been done before," Jericho moaned as she stared at the list we had brainstormed.

"Well, what were you gonna do by yourself?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "I hadn't thought of anything yet. Last year, I didn't bother to think up an idea until a week before the fair."

"What did you end up doing?"

"I did an exhibit on kites," she replied. "THE SCIENCE OF KITES, I think that's what I called it. I got a really good grade on it because I made the kites myself. Not that I really made them for the fair. I just had happened to make them for a competition."

"Hn." I leaned back in my computer chair, thinking.

My computer beeped, indicating I had an incoming video message. I looked at that sender and realized that it was Quatre. I quickly turned on my web cam, threw on my microphone headset and it the "accept" button. The image of my blond friend came up on the screen.

"Hey Quatre!" I greeted him. "What's up?"

He smiled back. "Nothing really. I just found a few empty minutes in my schedule and noticed you were available for a chat. I thought I would just say hi."

Jericho came to look to see whom I was talking to. Her jaw dropped. "That's…" she gasped.

"Oh, Quatre," I said, motioning to Jericho. "This is my friend, Jericho. Jericho, this is my friend—"

"Quatre Rababa Winner!" Jericho finished. She waved at the screen. "Hi Mr. Winner. I've seen you on the news and I think you're doing a wonderful job at keeping peace."

"Thank you," he said, blushing slightly. "I hope you're keeping Duo in line down there. He can be quite a handful."

"Oh, don't worry, I am," Jericho said, grinning. "I'll let you and Duo talk now. Nice to--err--meet you? Bye!" She walked over and sat on my bed, ready to wait politely until I was done talking with Quatre.

"So how is everybody up there, Quatre?" I asked, eager for news about my friends. I hadn't realized until then just how much I had been missing my friends.

"They're all doing well. And they all send their regards. We all can't wait until you're able to return to space," Quatre replied, a somewhat sad smile on his face.

We chatted for a few minutes. He gave me an update on how everyone up there was doing. Apparently Trowa's circus was doing quite well, Heero and Relena were now dating, and WuFei was acting strangely.

"If you ask me, I don't think he knows what to do now that you're not there to lecture, Duo." Suddenly, he turned from the computer as if someone off-screen was talking to him. He nodded then turned to me. "I have to go Duo. I have a meeting. It was wonderful talking to you. Tell Miss Jericho it was a pleasure to meet her…and check your e-mail," he added.

"Okay Quatre, I will. Talk to you later."

"Bye," he said with a wave, and the line disconnected.

"He seems like a nice guy," Jericho said with a smile. "How'd you meet him?"

"He is, and we met during the war," I replied as I logged onto my e-mail account. I had a new message from Quatre. I opened it.

_Duo, I did find it a real pleasure to meet Miss Jericho. I don't mean to be over stepping the bounds of our friendship, but if you're not interested in her, would you mind if I took her out to dinner the next time I come to Earth? You're quite lucky to have befriended her. Sincerely, Quatre._

I stared at the e-mail a few moments and then burst out laughing. Quatre was always so shy around girls that I never would have expected him to express an interest in Jericho.

"What's so funny?" Jericho asked as she sat up and made a move to come towards my desk.

"Nothing," I said as I quickly closed the e-mail before she saw it. "So, any ideas for the project yet?"

She shrugged. "I dunno." She sighed and moved her eyes around my room. They finally fell on my space colony poster. I looked up at the poster as well, and a light went off in my head.

"I've got it!" I cried. "We can do a model of Earth with the colonies and the moon all orbiting around it!"

Jericho's eyes lit up at the idea. "YEAH! That'd be really cool." She scooped up the pad of paper we had been brainstorming on, tore off the top sheet and wrote "COLONY MODEL PROJECT" on the first line of the new page. "Okay, Mr. Maxwell," she said, smiling. "How would you suggest we pull this project off?"

I groaned. As if school didn't require me to do enough thinking already, now I had to think for _her!_


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Sleepless

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters...however, I did pray last night that God would give me a boy friend that looks like Duo (No joke, I really did...pathetic, I know...)

_**

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Chapter Fourteen: Sleepless**_

Jericho and I had become fast friends, and over the weeks that followed we came to know everything about each other. She learned about my time living on the streets of the colonies and then my time living at the Maxwell Church. She hung on every word, listening intently and asking clarification when I told her something she didn't understand. Eventually, I even told her a little about Hilde, even though it still killed me to even think about her. I didn't tell Jericho too much about Hilde, but I did tell her about the junkyard we had co-owned.

In return, Jericho told me about herself. The Van Burens, it turned out, weren't her biological parents. Jericho's real last name was Rodgers, but her parents had died in a car accident when she was six. She didn't any relatives, so she had been placed in foster homes. She had been a "problem child", getting into fights and causing problems, so she was moved a lot and no one ever adopted her. When Jericho was eleven, she was sent to live with the Christophers, and she met the Van Burens through them. The Van Burens had adopted Jericho on her thirteenth birthday.

Most of our discussions took place outside of school. Jericho was often withdrawn around our classmates, and while she would talk in school, she saved all our important conversations for times when we were alone outside of school. She would talk just about anywhere else: in my room, in the Christopher's kitchen, in her kitchen, in her atrium, in a coffee shop that opened down the street from my house the first week of October.

I did most of my talking when we were walking or looking through junk shops and junkyards for materials for our science fair project. We had both thought it would be cool if we built the model so that the earth would turn and the colonies and the moon would orbit around it. Jericho wanted to build the motor from scratch, and while I knew I could do it if I had the right parts and enough time and patience to figure it out, I was still wary of the idea.

"Do you realize how complex motors are?" I asked her as we walked through a Radio Shack 1, looking for parts. "They require bolts and casings and turbines and a power source and lots of other itty-bitty parts that are a pain to find and an even bigger pain to put together! I mean, you'd almost need a professional engineer to build a motor!"

"Well, I figured that with all you know about fixing cars and machines, you'd be able to put together a motor no problem. I mean, you are the world's best mechanic, right?" she asked, a innocent-sweet smile spreading across her face.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you," I replied, putting my arm around her shoulder and giving her a playful one-armed hug. "You're the world's best suck-up."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she said as she skillfully shrugged out of my arm, making my heart sink. I liked having my arm around her.

I smiled a little at her, and then pretended to examine some wire so that she wouldn't notice the dejected look in my eyes.

Meanwhile, I was still trying to completely adjust to living with the Christophers. After that first flash back, I hadn't been sleeping too well. While I didn't have anymore real flash backs, my dreams were still riddled with memories from my past. Some nights I wouldn't be able to fall asleep. Other nights, I would wake up in a cold sweat or with tears running down my face. I didn't tell Diana or Jon about the dreams, but they knew something was up.

One night, I woke up with Sister Helen's final words ringing in my ears. _Duo, may you have God's blessing…_

I sat up in bed, holding my head in my hands. Why couldn't the past just let me be, even if for just one night? Why was I chosen to go through this torture?

I knew I wouldn't be able to fall asleep for a while, so I got up, pulled on a t-shirt and went downstairs to the kitchen. The clock on the stove said it was two-thirty in the morning. I turned on the overhead light and looked at my surroundings. Diana worked hard at keeping everything in the house neat, and the kitchen was the room she succeeded at the most. Now, in the middle of the night, under the glaring overhead light, the room looked almost sterile. It barely looked live in except for a single glass that sat in the sink, waiting to be washed.

I got myself a glass of milk and sat down on a stool at the island. I slowly drank the milk and tried to keep my mind clear. It didn't make sense to me. I always had stuff whizzing through my head at a hundred miles an hour no matter how hard I tried to empty it. WuFei and Heero were really good at clearing their minds, so why couldn't these demons go bother them?

I groaned and leaned my head on my hand. _Get a grip Duo,_ I told myself. _If the others knew you were thinking like this, they'd be disappointed. Com'n Duo, follow your own advice: Lighten up._

I sighed, frustrated with myself. Why was this taking so long? Why were things that happened almost two years ago still bothering me? No one else I knew ever had problems like this. From what I could tell, Quatre slept well, as did Trowa. I assumed WuFei did too. I doubted if Heero slept at all. He was super human in every other way. Knowing him, he had probably trained his body to go without sleep for years. The other Gundam pilots had no trouble sleeping, so what was my problem?

"ARG!" I slammed my fist against the counter top as if it was causing all my problems.

"Duo? Are you down there?" Jon's voice called from the stairs.

"Yeah," I called. He came into the kitchen, tying the sash of his bathrobe around his waist.

"What are you doing up?" Jon asked.

"I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. I thought I'd get up and get a drink," I explained. I drained my milk glass. "Now that I'm done with my milk, I'm gonna go back to bed."

Jon frowned as he watched me. "Are you okay? You haven't been sleeping so well the past couple of weeks. You look like you're going to drop dead."

"Hate to break it to you Jon," I replied. "But we're all going to drop dead." I forced myself to crack a smile. "Except me, of course. I'm a teenager and therefore I'm invincible 2."

Jon smiled. "Of course you are." He face turned serious. "Listen, Duo, if anything's bothering you, you can tell me or Diana about it. We'll listen and help, but we need to know what the problem is first."

"Thanks," I said. "I'll keep that in mind for when something's bothering me. But I'm gonna turn in. G'night."

"Sleep well Duo."

I snorted quietly at his last remark as I trudged up the stairs and flopped down on my bed. I couldn't even get up in the middle of the night and mentally berate myself around here. I felt as if I wasn't completely free to be myself. I hoped Miss Renée had been right when she had placed me here.

I didn't fall asleep again—not that I was really expecting to anyway. I stayed in bed until my alarm went off at 6:15, then I got up, took a shower, grabbed some breakfast, and headed to school.

I promptly fell asleep in first period Economics, and woke up to the teacher yelling at me about my snoring. I fell asleep again in History and Jericho woke me up. "You look awful, Duo," she said to me over the work sheet we were working on together. "Didn't you get any sleep last night?"

I shook my head and tried to focus my eyes on the paper, but they refused to do what I told them.

Jericho frowned. "You've seemed pretty stressed out and tired lately. You should take some time and relax. Get out of your house and do something fun."

I didn't answer her. Instead I closed my eyes and put my head down on my desk, defeated once again by exhaustion. I slept the rest of the period, and Jericho didn't stop me.

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1) Okay, I know this is at least two hundred years in the future or whatever, but I have faith that Radio Shack will stand the test of time and will still be around when we have space colonies orbiting around us…

2) An inside joke I have with my friend Lana. We used to say "We shouldn't do this, BUT since we're teenagers and we're invincible…COWABUNGA!" or "BUT, since I am sixteen and I know everything…" Yeah…anyway…like I said, some of these footnotes are pretty random.

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Please Review! Tell me what you guys want to see...er, read! 


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Outing

Disclaimer: You guys know the drill. I don't own Gundam Wing, but I do own my own characters and my plot.

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_**Chapter Fifteen: Outing**_

The following Saturday, I was rudely woken up by someone suddenly whipping my blankets off of me.

"HEY!" I shouted, leaping up. Adrenaline was pounding through my veins, and I was ready to defend myself against an attack.

Instead of an attack though, I was met with the sight of Jericho practically falling over with laughter. My blankets lay at her feet, and I quickly put two and two together. She was going down. I considered leaping at her, but right at that moment, I realized I was wearing nothing but my boxers. Blushing, I grabbed my bathrobe off the floor and pulled it on.

"What the heck are you doing?" I demanded. I was trying to hide my surprise by pretending to be angry.

Jericho grinned at me and walked over to my bookshelf, picking up the book WuFei had given me. "I've been trying to wake you up for ten minutes," she replied. "Get dressed. I suggest clothes you can walk in." She turned and headed to the door.

"Where are we going?" I asked. "And who says I'm going anywhere?"

"It's a surprise, and I say you're going somewhere," Jericho replied. "Get dressed. We're leaving in twenty minutes whether you're still in your boxers or not." She winked at me and shut the door behind her.

I sighed and got dressed in a pair of old jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. I brushed and re-braided my hair, grabbed my denim jacket and headed down stairs. Jericho was standing at the foot of the stairs, flipping through the tourist book. She looked up when she heard me on the stairs.

"Aww nuts," she said, pretending to pout. "I was hoping you'd come in just your boxers. Oh well," she sighed. For a second, I thought she actually looked slightly disappointed.

Her mom had lent Jericho her car for the day. We got in and Jericho started driving across town and then turned onto a main road that led out of town. For the first time since I had arrived from the colonies, I was leaving the town.

We drove out into the country. The town had been built in a wide, flat valley between two large hills. We drove over one of those hills and back down and continued to drive. The area was heavily wooded with farms and fields cut into the forests.

"Where are we going?" I asked Jericho after about twenty minutes of driving.

She smiled and turned off the main road onto a side road. A sign along the road read 'Indian Falls State Park and Nature Preserve, 3 miles'. "I saw this park was highlighted in your tourist book," she replied, tossing the book onto my lap. "I thought we'd go for a hike. Do you like hiking?"

I shrugged. "I've never gone. No real place to hike in the colonies."

"What about that time when you were here on Earth during the war?"

"I was, uh, too busy with other stuff to really go on hikes or anything," I replied.

"Yeah, I'll say," she mumbled, so quietly I barely heard her. I looked at her questioningly, but she didn't notice and I decided that it probably wasn't important enough to really worry about.

The late October sun shone down on us as we walked the trails in the nature preserve. The park consisted of a vast acreage of land that had a large gorge in it. We hiked the trails in the gorge, stopping to look at the different colored leaves surrounding us. Jericho had brought a camera, and I took picture after picture of what we saw to send back to WuFei. After about forty minutes of hiking, we came to a huge waterfall. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen.

Jericho sat down on a bench and pulled out a sketchpad. She fell silent and looked like she was concentrating pretty hard on what she was drawing, so I sat down on a rock a few yards from her and left her alone. I threw rocks into the stream and watched the waterfall and the clouds and looked at all the beautiful trees and let my thoughts drift.

I thought about how Earth was so different from the colonies and how I should have been grateful for the chance to spend time on Earth. Most normal kids from the colonies never got the chance to even go to a different colony in their lifetime, but here I was, an orphan with an awful past, and I was able to live on Earth. Life is funny like that sometimes, as Hilde would say.

I sighed. Poor Hilde, she used to talk about how one day she would go to Earth, and she would be able to see trees free to grow as tall as they wanted, and she would feel real sunlight, and feel the real wind. I had never really cared about that kind of stuff, but visiting the Earth had been one of Hilde's dreams. I remembered the day we had been sitting on the couch, just chatting. She had suddenly leaped up, kneeling on the couch and she grabbed my hands. "One day Duo, you and I are gonna go to Earth," she said, excited. "We're gonna go to the Earth and we're gonna go walking in the woods and have a snowball fight. We're gonna go swimming in the ocean, too."

"And then we'll sit on the beach and build sand castles?" I had asked her, smiling.

"Oh no," Hilde replied, and I suddenly realized her face was a lot closer to mine than it had been a moment ago. I was practically swimming in her blue eyes. "I can think of something much better to do on the beach than build sand castles."

That was when we had kissed for the first time. I couldn't remember if I had moved first or if she had, but suddenly we had our lips pressed against each other. It had been a simple, honest kiss. It wasn't the most passionate kiss, or the most intense, but it revealed the simple, honest love we had developed for each other over months of living together…

I missed her. I missed Hilde a lot. I missed her voice and her laugh and the way she used to yell at me about making a mess in the kitchen. I missed her cooking, and I missed the way she used to jokingly kiss any "boo-boos" I got. I missed the small pokes she used to give me when I least expected them. I missed everything about her.

"You're thinking about Hilde, aren't you?"

I looked up to see Jericho standing next to me, holding her sketchpad. "How'd you know?" I asked.

She smiled a little. "You always get that same sad face when you talk about her."

"Oh," I said. I looked down at the water.

"What happened to her?" Jericho asked. It wasn't the first time she had asked me, but for the first time, I felt like answering.

"She died," I replied. "She was crossing the street, and a car ran the red light and hit her."

"Oh, Duo, I'm so sorry," Jericho whispered. And she sounded sorry. She placed her hand on my shoulder. "You were in love with her didn't you?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. I think I was, but it was the first time, so I don't know. We were best friends though." I smiled. "We actually only kissed for the first time a week before she died. I think we probably could have lived together forever."

Jericho didn't say anything, staying respectfully quiet while I brooded a few moments more on Hilde's memory. Then it occurred to me that Jericho probably didn't know how to react, so I changed the focus of the conversation. "What were you drawing?" I asked.

Blushing a little, Jericho slowly handed me the pad. "They're not very good. You didn't sit still long enough for me to really finish any of them."

I looked down at her drawings. They were of me sitting on the rock. Some of them were no more than a few simple lines and shapes, while others were well developed. One of the really good pictures was a view of my back with my braid hanging down and my hand running through the hair at the top of my head. Another good one was an image from the side of me in the middle of throwing a rock. The best though was a profile of my face and body. The expression on my face did seem awfully sad and depressed.

"You're really good," I said to Jericho as I admired the pictures. "These are incredible!"

Jericho smiled. "Thanks. I still have a ways to go though."

We hiked another trail that lead up to the top of the falls and then back down the other side. We snapped pictures of everything we saw, and by the time we were done with the hike, we had gone through three rolls of film. I realized I enjoyed hiking; it was a lot of fun, and the fresh air really was helping me relax. As we headed back to the car to go to lunch, I asked if we could go hiking again.

Jericho grinned at me. "Sure thing, Duo."

After lunch, we got back into Jericho's car and went driving again. This time, we ended up at the Zoo.

"Ever been to the zoo before?" Jericho asked as we got out of the car.

I shook my head. "No."

"You poor thing!" Jericho cried. "Well, here, we're gonna go and see every animal they have here." She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me through the gates.

We walked through the zoo, stopping at looking at each other animals. I had never been to a zoo, so it was the first time I had ever seen real giraffes, leopards, tigers, eagles, polar bears, and what seemed like thousands of other animals. I couldn't get over how cool it was that I was so close to some of the animals.

I got really excited when I saw sea otters. We had to go down into a room under ground. One wall of the room was glass, and on the other side was the sea otter habitat. The otters swam right up to the glass, turning somersaults and doing other acrobatics in the water. I stood with my face really close to the glass, watching them. It was amazing. They were even better acrobats than Trowa!

"This is so cool! Oh wow, did you see that? These guys are amazing. WOW! Neat! Did you see that Jericho? He just did like three somersaults in a row. Jeez, I wish I could swim like that!"

Jericho just stood off to one side. I think she had more fun watching me than she did watching the otters. A group of little kids came in with their parents, and suddenly Jericho grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the window and back up the stairs to the outside.

"HEY!" I cried. "Jericho! I wasn't done! I wanna watch the otters more!"

Jericho laughed and grabbed my other arm too to keep me from going back "Did you see the looks people were giving you Duo? You were acting more like a little kid than the little kids!" She smirked. "Besides, it was getting crowded in there, and I want you all to myself today."

I stopped protesting and looked down at her. The way she had just told me she wanted me all to herself suggested something deeper. Did she like me? I met her eyes and gulped. She was really pretty and as we looked each other, I felt my cheeks go red. She had the same look Hilde had in her eyes that day we first kissed. _Hilde…_

I laughed a little and pulled my arms out of her hands. "So, what animal can I go freak out about next?" I asked her. I acted like nothing had just happened, but I new something had changed in our friendship.

She frowned slightly. I couldn't tell if she was disappointed or if she was just thinking. "The penguins are just down the path a ways. Wanna go see them?"

We walked down the path to the penguin habitat. There were all sorts of penguins. Jericho pointed out the species and told me where they lived. I never knew there were several species of penguins. I had always thought there were just penguins, and they all looked the same. But some of these birds looked pretty far out. My favorites were the Rock Hopper penguins. They had these bright yellow feathers sticking out of their heads, sort of like naturally occurring mohawks.

We stopped at the gift shop before we left. Jericho went to browse in the t-shirt area while I looked through the little toys and stuffed animals. I found a stuffed animal of the Kimono Dragon, the largest lizard on earth, the closest thing to a dragon. I wondered what WuFei would do if I sent it to him with a note that said, "Hey, WuFei, look! It's Nataku's cousin!" I grinned at the idea and decided I would do it.

"Hey, Duo! Look! I'm a Penguin!"

I looked up and saw Jericho wearing a huge Penguin suit, waddling towards me. I nearly fell over laughing. Jericho was laughing too.

"There was an otter suit back there," she said. "But it was for little kids. They're all out of adult sizes."

I pretended to pout. "But I wanna be an otter!"

She laughed and began to waddle back to the clothing area.

I bought the Kimono Dragon stuffed animal and waited for Jericho as she got out of the penguin suit. When she was finally free, we went back to the car and drove home. It was late in the afternoon, and so Jericho just dropped me off at my house.

"Thanks for taking me out today, Jericho," I said as I got out of the car. "I really needed it."

"Anytime Duo. You're fun to spend time with. I'll see you later."

"Yep, see ya!" I waved to her as she pulled out of the driveway.

That night, I fell asleep thinking about otters and waterfalls and penguins and Jericho, and I slept soundly through the night.


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Slight Obsession

I forgot to say this in the last chapter, but PLEASE REVIEW!!!!_**

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_**Chapter Sixteen: Slight Obsession**_

A few weeks after our outing, Jericho and I decided to get together and work on our science fair project. I went over to her house one Saturday afternoon in mid November. I was a little early, but I had been bored at home so I decided not to wait.

When I rang the doorbell, David --Jericho's father-- answered. He smiled at me and welcomed me in. I noticed as I went inside that all the furniture and the floors were covered in plastic.

"We're in the middle of repainting the down stairs," David explained.

As it turned out, Jericho had just gotten into the shower. I offered to wait for her in the kitchen (she didn't like people in her atrium when she wasn't in there with them) but David shook his head. Apparently, Megan was in the middle of a cooking marathon, making cookies for their church's bake sale.

"Why don't you go wait up in Jericho's room?" David suggested.

I gave him a questioning look. I had never been up to Jericho's room.

David laughed. "Jericho has this crazy notion that boys aren't allowed upstairs, but Megan and I never told her that. It's totally fine if you wanna go up and wait. She has a computer up there; you could use it. Just take the stairs up a flight, and it's down the hall, first door on the left."

I nodded and went up to her room. It was a nice room, with a large picture window. She had a big bed that needed to be made, and a desk with a state-of-the-art computer on it. The walls were covered with posters of bands and movie stars. It was weird, because Jericho had never come across as the kind of girl who swooned over celebrities.

On the wall above her bookcase, there was a bulletin board covered in newspaper articles and Internet printouts. I walked over, expecting to find articles about Jericho winning prizes at competitions, or things she had been involved in. I was poorly mistaken.

**Colonies Send Mobile Suits to Earth**…**Gundam Sighted at J.A.P. Point**…**Gundam Attack at Lake Victoria Base**…**Alliance Leaders Assassinated—Gundams to Blame**…**Gundam Self Destructed in Siberia**…**Gundams Return to Space**…**Unidentified Gundam Attacking Space Colonies**….

Every single one of those articles had to do with the Gundams. Pictures and maps accompanied many of them. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I glanced at the bookshelf under the bulletin board. My eye caught the word "Gundam" on the front of a large scrapbook-looking book.

I picked the book up. Jericho had written "Gundam Articles, Information, and Pictures" on the front. I opened it, and found duplicates of the articles on the bulletin board, along with hundreds of new articles and clippings. Pictures of the Gundams taken by different people covered page after page. A note under each one said who had taken it: "Taken by maintenance officer at Lake Victoria Base. 04 pictured." "Taken by civilian at J.A.P. Point. 01, 02 pictured."

Everything was in perfect chronological order. I had always thought Jericho reminded me of Heero in how thorough she was with things. But this book rivaled even Heero's thoroughness.

I flipped through the book, a strange sense of dread growing within me. I didn't know why, but I felt as though any minute, I would turn the page and see a picture of Deathscythe being destroyed. I didn't think I could stand being reminded of that.

I turned a page and took a sharp inhalation. There was an article on the left page that read "**Gundam Pilot Captured. Execution to be Scheduled." **On the opposite page, there was a picture of the captured pilot being dragged between two OZ soldiers. The pilot in the picture was me. At the bottom of the page, a name had been scribbled in Jericho's handwriting: **_"DUO MAXWELL"_**

My stomach dropped about twenty feet. Jericho had figured it out that I was a Gundam pilot! I wondered when she had figured it out. I remembered that day in History, almost two months before, when we had debated over the Gundams.

"_I've been on Earth before," I had said. "Spent a fair amount of time down here during the war, actually."_

"_Really?" Jericho had responded, cocking her head to one side. "I thought transportation to and from the space colonies was severely limited before and during the war. I heard you needed government and military clearance to leave the colonies. How'd you manage to get off the colonies?"_

I had gotten off the colonies because I was in a Gundam. If you thought about it, that was the only plausible explanation, since no colony citizens could have gotten the clearance needed.

And then there was what she had said to me after the class, the thing that first got me wondering if she knew I was a Gundam pilot.

"_I was…I was just wondering if you believe the rumors about the Gundam pilots beings teenagers, like us?" _

_I shrugged. "Who knows? Why, do you believe them?"_

"_Well, I didn't until about twenty minutes ago. But after debating you, I think my opinions on a lot of stuff are changing."_

I sat down on Jericho's bed and stared at the book. I flipped through it, and suddenly noticed there were a lot of notes that had been written recently about me, tying me to different attacks and things. Jericho probably knew more facts about my time as a Gundam pilot than I did. What was I going to do? _Think Duo. You have to think,_ I told myself. _No one's supposed to know. What would Heero do in this situation? _I realized that if Heero were in this situation, he would probably shoot Jericho and then change schools using my name as an alias. _On second thought, what would WuFei do? _That wasn't any good either; WuFei would simply call Jericho a stupid woman and insult her. I didn't feel like making Jericho mad. _Trowa?_ He wouldn't say anything, but he would also have the possibility to 'pull a Heero' and try to kill her. _God, I need to get friends who deal with their problems civilly, _I told myself. _What would Quatre do? _Quatre was a negotiator. He would try to convince her that she was mistaken, using his prestigious family name to convince her that he had no need to pilot a Gundam. But I didn't have a family name or money to back me up.

Finally, I decided there was only one way to handle the situation. I would have to talk to Jericho. I would have to make sure she understood she couldn't tell anyone. I would have to make sure no one else found out, even if it meant striking a deal with her.

I heard the bathroom door open out in the hall, and then Jericho's voice calling to her dad, asking if I had arrived yet. I couldn't clearly hear her father's answer, but I assumed he told her I was in her room because when she came in, she didn't look surprised to see me.

"Hey Duo, I didn't know you were here. What's up?" she asked with a smile. She hung up her towel on the back of her door and tossed her pajamas onto her bed.

"We need to talk," I replied, sounding a lot sterner than I had meant to.

"What about?" she asked, turning to me.

I held up the Gundam scrapbook. It was open to the page with the picture of me. When she saw it, Jericho's face fell. "Oh, that," she mumbled. "I guess you're gonna tell me I'm mistaken, huh? I've probably got the wrong guy. I mean, after all, you can't really see the pilot's face in that picture. It could just be a coincidence that you and he dress exactly alike and your have the exact same hair down to your bangs and the way you braid it." She sounded sincere, but after hanging out with her for almost two months straight, I knew she was being slightly sarcastic.

"How long have you known?" I asked, my voice still stern.

She looked down at the ground. "I sort of guessed the first day we met. I mean, you looked an awful lot like the picture. But I wasn't sure. After that day in history, though, when we had the debate about the gundams, I knew for certain. You seemed to know a whole lot more about the gundams than an average person would."

I sighed. "I have a couple of friends who would kill you if they were in this situation." Jericho looked up at me, fear spread across her face. She was scared I might kill her! "Don't worry!" I said, laughing. "I'm not one of those friends. But here's the thing: no one is supposed to know I'm a Gundam pilot. If people find out, I'm gonna be in trouble. And If I get into trouble, I'll get you into trouble. So you can't tell anyone." My voice had gone back to being stern. "Got it?"

Jericho nodded. "I won't tell anyone. I mean, I don't really have anyone to tell anyway." She reached over and took the book from me. "No one was supposed to see this thing anyway. I usually keep it under lock and key." She opened her closet and placed the book into an opened trunk. She closed and locked the trunk with a snap.

I looked over at the bulletin board that was covered in Gundam-related news articles. "What's with your fascination with us pilots and our Gundams anyway?"

She laughed. "You could call it a slight obsession. When I first heard about the Gundams, I was enthralled with the idea of such interesting machines. Originally I collected information so that I could compare the Gundams with other mobile suits. I guess, I dunno, eventually it evolved into some sort of a connection with them. I thought the Gundams were sort of like me, you know? You guys were just fighting to protect your way of life. I was just fighting to protect mine. You didn't stand a chance. Neither did I."

"You were an underdog, just like us huh?" I asked.

She nodded, and then turned to me. "Duo, I promise I'll keep your secret safe. I won't tell anyone that you're a Gundam pilot."

I smiled at her. "I know. I trust you, Jericho. Now, let's go work on that motor."


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Flashback, Take 2

_**Chapter Seventeen: Flashback, Take 2**_

I was acing all of my classes. I didn't understand why so many people hated school. Sure, it could be boring, and you had to do work, but I preferred schoolwork to fighting a war any day.

Ironically, though, my easiest class, Physical Education, was the class that gave me the most problems. I had the class with James and most of his lackeys, and so I got my share of grief during class. When we played soccer, I was kicked several times in the shins. Floor hockey brought my ankles or face into contact with the hockey sticks. While other guys got hit the same way, I knew the assaults against me were much more than just playing rough. James and his friends were playing dirty. It took all of my self-control for me to keep from pounding the guys. I was starting to really hate them, but I remembered Jericho's warning that I would be sent away if I fought, and so I kept my hands to myself.

One day, we came into the gym to find mats spread across the floor. The teacher, Coach Kingsly, told us that we were going to be learning some self-defense moves. He paired us up, and to my horror, I was matched up with James.

"Hey, Mr. Kingsly, this isn't fair! Bird-Brain here is like twice my size!" I protested.

"Okay, Duo, lemme see who I can get to switch with James…" Mr. Kingsly said, looking around the gym.

"Yeah, that's it, Maxwell," James sneered at me. "Run away like a scared little girl. You look enough like one."

I turned my head slowly and glared at him, my eyes narrow. "Hey, Mr. Kingsly, on second thought, I think I'll stick with James."

That first day we were learning what to do if someone attacked you from the front. Basically, one of us would act as the attacker and approach the victim from the front and the victim would flip the attacker. We would then switch parts and practice again. It was a pretty pointless class period since I already knew how to do it. I didn't have too much trouble flipping James even though he was so much bigger than me. And he had absolutely no problem flipping me. In fact, he seemed to thoroughly enjoy slamming me down against the mat with all his might.

"Hey, James, be gentle!" One of James' friends called over. "Remember, Maxwell is from the colonies. Their kind is weaker than us Earthlings. You might break him, and then you'd have to answer to Jericho!" The guys and James laughed.

When their laughter subsided, I grinned at them all. "Oh, don't worry. James wouldn't be able to break me if he tried. He wouldn't be able to break anyone. Not if he was relying on these skills in a real fight," I called back.

"What's that supposed to mean, Maxwell?" James demanded, taking a step closer to me.

I shrugged. "Well, you know, if an attacker is experienced, he wouldn't just run up from your front and try to grab you. No way! It'd be too easy for you to stop him."

"Sure Maxwell, whatever," James replied. "Now, it's my turn to flip you. So, com'n, attack me."

I grinned a huge grin at him. "You want me to attack you?" I asked him. He nodded. "Okay, if you're sure," I said with a grin.

I backed up a few steps and then made a running start at James. He got into the stance so that he could grab me and flip me. I noticed that his legs were too far apart to make him really steady, making them the perfect target. And so, when I reached James, before he could grab my arm and flip me, I ducked and kicked his feet out from under him. James fell hard and landed on his back with a loud thump. Several of the other guys in the class laughed, and James' face went red.

I stood up and brushed my clothes off. "See? That one skill didn't keep you safe from an attack on your lower body," I walked over and offered James my hand to help him up. "Just think about what you'd be feeling if I decided to go for a more…sensitive…area."

James narrowed his eyes at me in an expression of utmost anger and hit my hand away. He stood up as the bell rang. "Just you wait, Maxwell. You're gonna pay for that," he snarled at me as he turned and headed towards the varsity locker room.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. James had no idea who he was dealing with. If he knew that I was the God of Death, he would think twice about threatening me.

I told Jericho about what happened in lunch. I expected her to laugh and congratulate me, but instead she got a look of horror on her face. "No, Duo, you didn't!" she cried. "James is gonna come after you now like he comes after me. Before, you just defied him so he ignored you for the most part. But now that you've embarrassed him and made him look like a fool, he is gonna make you pay."

"Don't worry about it, Jericho. I can handle him. I'm a Gundam pilot, remember?" I said, dropping my voice so that no one would over here.

"Yeah, well, you don't have Deathscythe anymore. I bet your skills aren't so great without it," she replied, sounding slightly annoyed.

I frowned at her. "You don't think I can handle myself in a fight?" I demanded.

"Not without your Gundam. Look at you Duo! You're taller than me, but you're on the small side for guys. And you're a lot weaker than you were when you were a pilot. Piloting mobile suits really gets people into shape. You haven't piloted a suit for almost eleven months. James plays sports and works out. He'll pummel you."

"Nah, he can't take me. I've got skills he could only dream of having," I said, leaning back and putting my hands behind my head. Jericho's lecturing was starting to irk me.

Jericho slammed the textbook she had been reading closed. "You're so cocky it makes me sick."

"It's better to be cocky than a pessimist," I shot back. I was officially irked.

"I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist," she snapped. Her ears were getting red, meaning she was getting mad.

"You're not a realist, Jericho. You're a scared little girl who would rather hide in books than face the real world." As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I regretted them.

Jericho looked like I had slapped her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stood and gathered all her books.

"Jericho, look, I didn't mean it. I'm sorry," I said, pleading. _Oh God, don't let her storm out like Hilde…_

She stopped in the middle of what she was doing and stared hard at me. "Yes, you did mean it, Duo. You're wearing your priest outfit. Remember what I told you about it? You're more honest when you wear it." The tears were running down her cheeks now. "If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go to the ladies room."

She practically ran from the lunchroom. I watched her go, my head spinning. She was leaving just like Hilde…just like Hilde…

_Oh God, NO! _I thought, grabbing my head. I could feel it coming, it was going to happen, but I couldn't stop it. I stood there in horror as the world around me dissolved and was replaced with…

…_The kitchen was a mess. I had thrown a little party the night before when Hilde was out of town on business. It hadn't been a big deal, just twenty or thirty people, some food, dancing, and goofing around. I hadn't told Hilde, but I figured that as long as there wasn't any alcohol at the party, she wouldn't mind so much. _

_Boy, was I wrong about that._

"_DUO! What the hell happened here last night?" Hilde cried when she saw the mess the house had been left in. Soda cans were lying everywhere. There were food and drink spills on the carpet. The kitchen counters were covered in dirty dishes and garbage. Everywhere you looked there was mess._

"_Oh, well, I had a little party while you were gone," I said sheepishly. Her yelling had woken me up, and I really just wanted to get back into bed and sleep for another couple of hours._

"_A LITTLE party? Duo, it looks like Bachus (1) made an appearance here last night!" She was really mad._

"_Nah," I said, walking over to her. "There wasn't any wine. He wouldn't have enjoyed it."_

"_Duo, this isn't a joke! Look at this mess! Who's gonna clean it up?" Hilde demanded._

"_Don't worry, Hilde, I will," I reassured her. I bent to kiss her, but she pushed me away. I stared at her, hurt. "What the heck Hilde? Can't I even kiss my girlfriend?"_

"_Duo, I want this kitchen cleaned now! I wanna make some lunch, but I can't until it's clean."_

"_I told you Hilde, I'll clean it in a minute," I made a move to kiss her again, and she pushed me away again._

"_I don't think you understand me. I want this kitchen cleaned now. I'm really pissed that you had a party while I was gone, and now you're gonna clean it up," Hilde ordered._

_I was starting to get upset now too. "Oh, I understand you, Hilde. You care more about your damn kitchen than me."_

_She glared at me. "No, I don't care about the kitchen more than you, but I sure as heck wish you'd grow up sometime Duo."_

"_Earth to Hilde, I have grown up. I grew up along time ago. Remember? I wasn't like you with your privileged family life!"_

_Hilde's eyes narrowed. "I told you never to mention my family." She turned and stalked to the front door._

"_Where are you going?" I demanded, following her._

"_I'm going to Sally's. I'm sick of spending my time with an immature idiot."_

_I didn't want her to leave. I wanted her to stay. I wanted to apologize. But I found myself saying "FINE! GET OUT! AND DON'T COME BACK!"_

_Hilde looked at me, here eyes full of hurt. "FINE! I WON'T!" She opened the door and ran out._

_I stood in the door way watching her, my heart breaking._ Duo, you fool, go after her, _I thought. I ran outside to the sidewalk following Hilde. She was already almost to the corner. I started after her, calling her name, but before I knew it, the unthinkable happened. A car ran the red light. The next thing I knew was the sound of screeching brakes, Hilde screaming, me shouting, and watching as Hilde's body was thrown through the air like a rag doll._

"_HILDE!" I screamed as I fell to my knees. _

"HILDE!"

I suddenly snapped back to reality. I was on my knees in the middle of the lunch room, screaming the name of my dead girlfriend. Other students were standing all around me, staring in horror. "What's wrong with him?" "Is he having a seizure?" "Someone get the nurse!" "Someone call 911!"

Tears were flowing from my eyes, and I was shaking like there was no tomorrow. I needed Heero. I needed to call Heero. I needed to talk to Heero.

"DUO? DUO!" Jericho was pushing through the crowd. She knelt down next to me. "Duo, what's wrong? What is it?"

"H…Heero…" I whispered through my tears.

"What'd he say?" someone asked. "I think he's calling Jericho his hero," another person replied.

"HEERO!" I shouted at them. Why didn't they understand? I needed to call Heero.

"Out of the way, everyone move! What is going on here?" Principal Quigley was pushing his way through the crowd. "What's the problem, Maxwell?" he demanded when he saw me.

"Heero…I need to call Heero," I said.

"What's all this?" Quigley demanded. "Maxwell, get up off that floor this instant! Why are you causing such a ruckus?"

I stood with Jericho's help. I was still shaking and crying, and I felt like I was going to be sick. "I need to call Heero Yuy," I told Principal Quigley.

"You're not calling anyone," he replied taking me by the arm. "You're going to the nurse."

"NO!" I shouted, pulling away from him. "I don't need a nurse! I need to call Heero!"

From somewhere behind me came James' voice. "He's gone crazy, Principal Quigley. He's having a nervous break down or something."

I made a move to turn to James, but Jericho grabbed me and kept me from moving. "Duo, let's go to the nurse's office. You can call Heero from there, okay?"

Jericho and Principal Quigley led me down the hall to the nurse's office. When we got there, the nurse started fussing over me like I was about to die. All she wanted to do was make me lie down and be quiet while she called Jon to come pick me up, but when I wouldn't stop asking for the phone to call Heero, she finally relented. She handed me the phone, and I dialed Heero's cell phone number. Jericho sat next to me, staring at the floor.

"Hello?"

"Hey Heero, it's Duo." I told him about the flashback, about having it in the middle of the lunch room, about what I was forced to relive. Jericho sat next to me, listening. The more she heard, the more horrified the look on her face became.

"Where are you now?" Heero asked.

"At school, in the nurse's office," I replied.

"Is anyone there with you?"

"Yeah," I said. "My friend Jericho."

"Give her the phone for a minute."

I handed Jericho the phone. She looked at me like I had grown a second head. "He wants to talk to you," I said with a shrug.

"Hello?" Jericho said into the phone. "Yes…Fine, how are you?...Yes…No, he hasn't told me anything…No I didn't know that...Yes…Okay…Yeah. Okay, thank you. Good bye." She hung up the phone.

"What'd he say to you?" I asked.

She looked at me for a moment, and then she threw her arms around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug.

"It'll be okay Duo. You're gonna be okay," she whispered. "I'm here, and I'm not gonna leave."

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(1) Bachus was the Greek God of wine and partying.

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PLEASE review and tell me what you think! 


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Crazy or Not

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. sigh Anyone know where I can find a Duo plushy?

A/N: This chapter is uncharacteristically short. This chapter and the one after it were originally one single chapter, but I broke it apart for the sake of my readers' sanity. Enjoy!

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_**Chapter Eighteen: Crazy or Not**_

Of course, since I had the flashback during school, Diana and Jon were notified. I hadn't told them about the first flashback I had had the first week I was living with them and I had been hoping to keep my flashbacks a secret from them. The secret ended when the school nurse called them after my flashback. Jon came and picked me up from school early. The nurse suggested that I should take a few days off to rest and recuperate.

"It was a flashback, not a freaking head injury," I snapped at her when she suggested it. "It's nothing to recuperate from."

The nurse frowned and turned to Jon. "You must understand, I'm suggesting he stay home for a few days in lieu of having him admitted to the Psychology Ward at the hospital."

"You think I should go into the loony bin?!" I cried. "I'm not crazy!"

"Duo, that's enough," Jon said. "We'll keep him home for a few days, if you think that will be best."

"I do," the nurse said with a nod. "And perhaps when he returns, you could supply us with his complete file of his mental health records. There are gaping holes in the ones you gave us."

I snorted. I was tempted to tell her that she only had part of my mental health records because most of my mental problems came from fighting in the war as a Gundam pilot. But I kept my mouth shut.

"Now, Miss Van Buren, you need to go back to class," the nurse said, turning her attention to Jericho who was standing next to me, her hand around my wrist. She hadn't broken physical contact with me since she had gotten off the phone with Heero.

Jericho shook her head. "No. I want to stay with Duo."

"Duo's going home, dear. Now, come on, I'll write you a pass to your class. Where are you going?" When Jericho didn't make a move to head back to class, the nurse frowned. "Jericho, don't be difficult. Go to class."

"I'm going home with Duo," Jericho insisted. "I told him I wouldn't leave."

"Jericho," Jon said, putting a hand on Jericho's shoulder. "It's alright. I'm with Duo now. You should go back to class."

Jericho frowned and reluctantly let go of my wrist. "Don't worry," she whispered into my ear. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

I gave her a pleading look. I was still shaken up by the flashback, and I didn't want her to leave. She was like my priest outfit—familiar and comforting.

Jon and I drove home in silence. When we got home, Jon pulled into the driveway and turned off the car. Neither of us got out of the car.

"Duo, tell me something," Jon said after a few moments of silence "Have you had other flashbacks here? Is that why you've been having problems sleeping?"

"I've had one flashback besides this one," I replied slowly. "About a week after I got here. I've been having problems sleeping for other reasons. I haven't been having flashbacks, but every time I fall asleep it's like all my memories just sort of come out and play."

"Why didn't you tell us?" he asked.

I paused and looked over at Jon. "Do you know what that's like?" I asked him. "To know that if you go to sleep, you're going to have to see someone die all over again, or to have to relive a battle, or whatever. Do you know how that feels? To be scared of sleeping?"

A look of deep pity and sorrow came over Jon's face. "No Duo, I'm sorry, I don't."

I sighed. "And you wonder why I never told you about the first flashback," I said bitterly as I got out of the car.

I went straight to my room, closing and locking the door behind me. I flung myself onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling. A few minutes later, Jon came to the door and knocked, saying he wanted to talk to me.

"I don't wanna talk right now," I replied. "Just leave me alone."

After a few minutes, Jon left. A while later I heard footsteps outside my door and then a knock.

"I told you, Jon! I don't wanna talk. Go away."

"Good thing I'm not Jon," said Jericho's voice from the other side of the door. "Com'n Duo, let me in. I promise I won't make you talk. I'll just sit with you."

I stood up and opened the door. Jericho stepped in. She was carrying both her backpack and mine. Since she was a girl, I had to leave my bedroom door open, but that was all right now that she was there.

We sat down on my bed, me with my back up against the headboard, her with her back leaning against the wall.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" I asked her.

Jericho grinned at me. "I called my mom and told her what had happened. She came right over and got me. She said I can stay with you today, but I have to go back to school tomorrow."

I smiled a small smile at her. "Your mom is awesome."

"Yeah, I know."

We sat in silence for a while. I wasn't in the mood to talk, and Jericho could sit for hours on end silently. It was nice just to be in each other's company. I thought a lot during that time of silent contemplation, and finally I decided to tell Jericho something important.

"You know what triggered my flashback today?" I asked her.

She looked up from her thoughts and shook her head.

"The day that Hilde died," I explained. "We got into a fight and she ran out of the house. She ran out because of me. The fight was my fault…" Jericho reached over and squeezed my hand. "When you ran out of the room today, I was scared I'd never get the chance to tell you I was sorry or anything. I was scared I was going to loose you."

"Oh Duo, you don't have to worry about loosing me. It's a lot harder to get rid of me than that. I mean, ask James. He's been trying to get rid of me for years," Jericho said, scooting over so that she was sitting next to me.

"Yeah, why is that? Why does he hate you so much?" I asked.

Jericho shook her head and didn't answer my question. Instead, she pulled out our History books. "Just because you have to stay home the next couple of days, Duo, doesn't mean you get to slack off with homework."

I frowned at her response, but didn't pursue the topic. I took my history book and opened it. I read the assigned section silently for a bit, and then looked up at Jericho. She was concentrating hard on the book, absorbing everything she was reading. She looked like some sort of Greek statue withthat serious expression on her face.

"So, what did everyone at school have to say about my little fit today?" I asked her.

"They all think you're crazy," she replied without looking up.

"Oh. What about you?"

She looked up and cocked her head to one side. She reminded me of a bird when she did that. "What about me?" she asked.

I smiled at her. "Do you think I'm crazy or not?"

She chuckled. Reaching over, she pulled lightly on one of my bangs. "It doesn't matter to me if you're crazy or not, Duo. I just know I wouldn't want you any other way." She smiled at me and then turned her attention back to her History book. "How far have you gotten in the chapter?"

I went back to doing my homework, glad that Jericho would accept me for who I was, and not for how I acted.


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Pay Back

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. ::sigh:: Anyone know where I can find a Duo plushie?

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_**Chapter Nineteen: Pay Back**_

When I returned to school, I learned first hand what it must have felt for the people in the Middle Ages who came down with the Plague. Everyone avoided me in every way possible. No one spoke to me except Jericho and my teachers. When I walked the halls, no one even so much as brushed shoulders with me. At first I thought I was over reacting until one freshman practically ducked under a water fountain to avoid me.

There were wild rumors flying around about me. Some said that I had epilepsy. Others said that the change in gravity between the colonies and earth was affecting my brain. A few kids believed I had had an out of body experience. But the most widely accepted explanation was that I was crazy and that someday I would come to school with guns and shoot up the entire student body.

I laughed when I heard that rumor. The person who started it had no idea just how hard it would be for me to "shoot up" a school with almost one thousand students in it. The ammunition needed alone would be too much for me to handle, much less acquiring the weapons needed for carrying out the job.

"Heck, it'd almost be easier to just rebuild a Gundam and blow up the school with that," I told Jericho on our way home from school one day.

Jericho rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, you have fun with that."

And so, I spent a few weeks living as the school's "untouchable" student. It was kind of annoying, but I got through it without too much problem. As my flashback got further and further in the past, things seemed to go back to normal.

One thing that was different, however, was my relationship with Diana and Jon. At their pleading and insistence, I opened up to them and talked to them about my problems. I talked to them about Hilde and about the war and things that happened before the war. But even with me telling them things by myself, they still weren't completely confident that I was doing all right. Diana called Principal Quigley once a week to find out how I was doing. Teachers mailed home updates about my schoolwork. I didn't understand why. I was still doing great in all my classes.

In fact, I was doing great in general. The flashback passed into memory, and I continued on as I had before. It wasn't me who had changed; it was other people who had changed.

James was an exception. He hadn't changed at all. And he wasn't ready to let the humiliation I had given him in Phys Ed slide. When I got back to school I suddenly became a target like Jericho. I was being pushed and tripped in the halls and I was the target for insults and other verbal abuse. I was really tempted to give the idiots what they deserved, but I didn't fight back since I didn't want to be sent away.

One day, shortly after my flashback, I was walking home alone. Jericho had been sick that day, and I was planning in my head to stop by her house and give her the homework assignments. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings, and so I didn't know someone was behind me until I was shoved to the ground.

"HEY!" I jumped up and whirled around, finding myself face to face with James. His whole group of friends was standing behind him. I saw Jeff and Brian at the very back of the group.

"Hi Duo," James said, a sickeningly polite smile stretching across his face. "I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time."

"Get lost James," I snapped, brushing off my clothes. I was wearing my priest outfit again. I had been wearing it a lot lately because Jericho liked it.

"Now Duo, that's not a nice thing to say," one of James's lackeys sneered at me.

"Yeah, well, last time I checked, it wasn't a nice thing to shove someone over. Now, you heard me, get lost, or I'll get mad."

James took a step towards me. "Was that a threat Maxwell?"

I shrugged. "You could interpret it like that."

James sneered and then lunged at me. He was really fast for such a big guy, and he caught me by the collar. "Not very Christian of you to be making threats," he said, pulling me closer to him. "Maybe you don't deserve this priest's collar."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm the last person you need to be giving advice to on living a Christian life. I grew up in a church. Literally."

James laughed loud and long. "That explains a lot. I thought I smelled orphan on you when you first came. I know that sewer stench anywhere." He shoved me back. I almost lost my balance, but somehow I managed to stay standing.

"Did you just say I smell like a sewer?" I demanded, feeling my rage coming.

"Yeah. I know that smell anywhere. Van Buren had the same stench when she came here. Orphans always smell like sewers." James laughed again, and this time his friends joined in.

My brain was screaming at me, telling me not to fight back, but at that moment my rage got the better of me. I ran at James, ready to pound the living day lights out of him.

I never touched James. One of his lackeys grabbed me and held me back. I screamed and cursed in fury. The other kids laughed. James walked up to me and watched, just out of my reach, as I kicked and screamed. When I finally stopped to catch my breath, he pulled his fist back and then brought it full force into my stomach.

The pain was excruciating as the air was forced out of my lungs in one huge gust. I doubled over but didn't cry out. The lackey holding me back let go and I collapsed to my knees.

"Well Maxwell, got anything to say?" James asked, once again grabbing me by my collar and pulling me to my feet.

I forced a grin across my face. "Yeah. You hit like a nun."

He glared at me and punched me in the stomach again. Once again I didn't shout, but I did have to fight to stay conscious. _At least he's not Heero,_ I thought to myself as James pulled his fist back. _I'd be in a coma by now if it were Heero._

James' fist connected with my jaw. It hurt like hell, and I wanted to fight back, but I couldn't. I was still trying to catch my breath and now my head hurt.

"Hey, Chris, CATCH!" James shouted as he shoved me over to one of his lackeys. Chris caught me roughly and shoved me over to another kid. My head was spinning, and all the shoving was making me disoriented. I heard clothing rip, and I felt a breeze on my neck and chest that hadn't been there a few moments before. Angrily, I took a few swings at thin air until I felt my fist collide with someone's face. There was an angry yell, and the kids all started closing in on me.

"I'll teach you for taking a swing at me," James snarled, nursing his jaw.

"TEACHER!" someone shouted.

The mob dissolved into a group of fleeing teenagers. The person holding me shoved me to the ground. I fell hard on my side, tearing the elbow of my shirt and skinning my hand on the concrete.

"YOU KIDS GET BACK HERE!" a familiar voice shouted. No one in James' group listened as they all disappeared in various directions.

I looked up to see Ms. Collins kneeling down beside me. "Are you alright, Duo?"

"Yeah," I replied as I pushed myself into a sitting position. I examined my hand. It was bleeding. "Just a few scratches. Nothing I haven't had before, you know?"

Ms. Collins shook her head and pulled a handkerchief out of her purse. "Here." She tied the handkerchief around my hand. "That'll at least help stop the bleeding. What was that all about?" she asked as she helped me up. My stomach hurt when I stood up straight, but I did my best, wincing only when it hurt really badly.

"Oh, I knocked James over in Phys Ed the other day. I guess he thought he'd teach me a little lesson," I said with a shrug. My shirt had been ripped from the collar down and across the chest. I sighed. _Great. I doubt I'll be able to salvage it again_, I thought

Ms. Collins frowned. "That's not right." She looked around and shook her head. "I can't guarantee that they won't jump you again, but I can make sure they won't jump you again today. My car's just parked around the corner. I'll drive you home."

"Thanks Ms. Collins, but I think I'll just walk. I need to stop by Jericho's house anyway to drop off her homework and stuff," I said, pointing to my backpack.

"Well, I know where Jericho lives. I'll drop you off and then take her stuff to her house," Ms. Collins said as we started towards her car.

"Thanks, really, but I promised Jericho I'd bring it. She'd be more worried if I didn't show up with it than she will be when she sees me like this."

Ms. Collins sighed. "Alright, we'll stop by Jericho's house first, and then I'll take you home. Sound good?"

I nodded. "Yeah, okay."

We drove to Jericho's house in an awkward silence. It felt weird to have an adult go out of their way for me. I mean, sure, Diana and Jon had been going out of their way for me since I had gotten to Earth, but that was their job as foster parents. Ms. Collins probably had something she would rather be doing than driving me around, but she had put her plans on hold to help me. I hadn't met an adult since Father Maxwell and Sister Helen who would have done something like that for me.

Ms. Collins went to the door with me. I rang the bell, and Jericho answered the door. She was wearing her bathrobe, her hair was a mess, and she was blowing her nose.

"Hey Du—what da heck happened doo you?" she cried when she saw me. I was tempted to laugh at how she sounded with a stuffy nose.

"James," I replied, barely holding back my laughter as we stepped into the front hallway.

"I dold you dat he'd go afda you for making a fool oud of him," Jericho said, shaking her head. "You're bruising all ready." She gingerly touched my jaw where James had punched me. "Dat had doo hurd."

"Like I told James, he hits like a nun." Both Jericho and Ms. Collins laughed at that.

I gave Jericho her homework. "He insisted on coming here and giving it to you himself, even when he's a mess," Ms. Collins told her.

Jericho smiled at me, a wonderful sight even when she was sicker than a dog. "Danks." She invited us into the kitchen for some tea, but Ms. Collins declined for the both of us.

"Thanks Jericho, but I need to get Duo home to get cleaned up. I hope you feel better."

"Okay," Jericho said, walking us to the door. "I'll call you lader, Duo."

We drove back to my house. When we got there, I saw that Diana's car was already in the driveway.

Ms. Collins went inside, even though I begged her not to. The last thing I needed was a teacher talking to my foster parents about my social problems.

Diana was standing in the middle of the kitchen, stirring a bowl of brownie mix. When she caught sight of me, her eyes went wide and the bowl fell from her hands, sending the brownie batter everywhere. "Oh my God! Duo! What happened to you?"

"Nothing," I told her. "I'm fine."

"No you're not," Ms. Collins replied. "Mrs. Christopher, I'm Sarah Collins, Duo's history teacher. I brought Duo home today. I hope you don't mind, but I felt it was safest for him."

"I could have handled walking home by myself," I insisted as Diana took my face in her hands to examine my bruising jaw.

"What happened?" Diana asked again.

I sighed. "Some guys from school jumped me on my way home. They ruined my shirt," I said, tears coming to my eyes. I loved that shirt. It was all I had left from when I lived at the Maxwell Church. The fact that it was practically ripped to shreds made me want to cry.

"What guys?" Diana asked, giving me a brief, stiff hug.

I didn't answer. I knew that if I gave names, James and the others would get in trouble and then take it out on me. It had happened to me before with other people, and I wasn't interested in having it happen again.

Ms. Collins sighed and answered for me. "It's a group of kids at school that have been doing this kind of thing since they were freshman. They're virtually gods in the high school scene, and they all have parents rich enough to buy their way out of any lawsuit. They target weaker kids, or kids that don't fit into what they think of as normal. I guess with his little spell a few weeks ago, Duo earned his place on the list of victims."

Diana frowned and looked at me, concerned. "Duo, why don't you go upstairs and clean yourself up. There's some iodine and band-aids in the bathroom cabinet if you need them."

I nodded and went upstairs. I cleaned the cuts on my hand and washed my face with cold water, hoping to keep the bruising on my jaw to a minimum. I took off my black clothes and pulled on jeans and a t-shirt. I sat down on my bed and examined my priest shirt, hoping that the tear had just been along the seams, making it easy to mend. No such luck. The cloth, which was almost ten years old, had been torn beyond repair.

I hung my head. It had been my favorite shirt. No, it had been more than just my favorite shirt. It had been part of me, like Deathscythe had been. I had had it since I had moved into the Maxwell Church. In fact, it was the only set of clothing I had for several years, during the time between when I lived in the church and when I was sent to Earth with Operation Meteor.

"God, how much more of this can I take?" I asked out loud. I wasn't sure if God was real or not, but it sure made me feel better to at least pretend to talk to someone. "I mean, first You take away Hilde, then You take away my friends, now You take away my only souvenir of the Church?"

I hurled the torn shirt across the room at my bookshelf. It hit the top shelf and as it fell to the ground, something fell with it. I stood up, walked over, and picked up the object that had fallen from the shelf. It was the self-detonate switch Heero had given me.

"_When you don't think you can take it any more, connect the two wires at the end and then press the button," Heero had said. "The device will take it from there."_

I stared down at the switch. I had so many emotions going through my brain that I didn't know what I could still take. All I knew was that I didn't want to have to deal with this kind of pain anymore. I connected the two wires on the bottom of the switch. Taking a deep breath, I began to press the button, but then my eye caught two things sitting on my dresser. One was the picture of me and Hilde at the park. _What would Hilde think of you for taking the easy way out of this, when you managed to go through loosing her?_ A voice in my head asked. The other thing was a picture of Jericho in the penguin suit she had found at the zoo gift shop. _Jericho's been going through this torture for years. You can deal with it._

Sighing, I disconnected the wires and set the switch back down onto the shelf next to Trowa's puzzle. I had given up trying to open the box long before. I sighed and smiled sadly at the box. I missed the guys, and I wished that I could see them.

I went back downstairs. Ms. Collins was still there, and Jon had gotten home too. The three of them were sitting at the dining room table. I didn't go in, but instead eavesdropped from the front room. Ms. Collins had told Diana and Jon that there was no use trying to sue James and his friends, since they could just buy their way out of it, and none of their friends could be convinced to testify against them.

"So, what? Are we just supposed to sit back and let Duo be the victim of bullies?" Diana demanded. "We can't do that. We're his family now, whether he wants to accept it or not. We need to keep him safe."

"I'm not saying that," Ms. Collins replied. "I've noticed that since he's started hanging out with Jericho, the obvious physical bullying towards her, like pushing and harassment, has decreased significantly. I think that as long as Duo and Jericho stick together, they'll be fine. Also, I think Duo probably could have held his own in a fight against them today if he hadn't been caught off guard." She laughed. "At least he can keep his sense of humor after a beating. He told Jericho that James hits like a nun."

Diana and Jon laughed at that. "Yeah," Jon said. "He has quite the sense of humor. We take it as a good sign."

"It's a very good sign," Ms. Collins said. I heard chairs move across the floor. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to be getting home. I still need to feed my cats."

I quickly ducked into the kitchen so they wouldn't know I had been eavesdropping. I sat down on a stool, smiling to myself. I had often been told my use of humor in stressful situations was annoying. I was glad to know that someone appreciated it.

I picked up the phone and called Jericho, ready to tease her about what her stuffed up nose did to her speech.


	20. Chapter Twenty: Snow Day

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. sigh Anyone know where I can find a Duo plushy?

A/N: Cocowinterdeathangel said she thought it was cute that Quatre liked Jericho, so I decided to play with that idea. Also, we were just hit with a huge snowstorm over the weekend, which inspired me to get into the "snowy spirit" and I wondered how Duo would react to seeing snow for the first time (Yeah, yeah, so it was snowy during that battle in Endless Waltz. Gimme a break here people!)

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_**Chapter Twenty: Snow day!**_

The science fair project was coming along great. After weeks of searching for materials, Jericho and I had finally gotten everything we needed to build a model of the Earth and everything that was in orbit around it and a motor to turn it. By the time December first rolled around, we had everything ready for construction to begin.

We worked mainly in Jericho's atrium, since it was a large area, it was heated, and it had all the tools we would need for the project. Jericho put away most of her other projects to make space for us to build the model, but she kept the area of the room where she did her sewing as it was. However, she put up several large Japanese-style screens around it so that I couldn't tell what she was working on.

When I asked her what she was sewing, she just grinned at me and said "Christmas presents."

"Oh," I replied.

I woke up on the first Friday of December to the sound of the phone ringing. I glanced at the clock. It was 6:00 AM. I still had fifteen minutes before I had to get up.

Diana walked into my room, holding the cordless phone. "It's for you Duo. It's Jericho."

Groaning, I reached up and took the phone from my foster mother. "You couldn't have waited another fifteen minutes to call?" I grumbled into the phone. "I don't have to get up for school for another fifteen minutes."

"Actually," Jericho replied, sounding very awake. "You don't have to get up for school at all today."

"What?" I asked, thinking I had heard her wrong. "What are you talking about?"

"There's no school today."

"What?" I repeated, sitting up. "Why not?"

"It's a SNOW DAY!" Jericho squealed into the phone. She sounded like a little kid who had been set loose in a candy store.

"A what day?" I asked.

"A _snow_ day," Jericho said, sounding exasperated.

"What's a snow day?"

"Oh my gosh, Duo, you are so hopeless sometimes! There's so much snow on the ground that the busses can't get through. School is closed for the day."

"…Snow? There's snow on the ground?" I asked, getting excited. I had never seen real snow before.

"Yeah," Jericho replied. "Haven't you looked out the window yet?"

"No, sorry, Miss Sunshine, but some of us prefer to stay in bed until we have to get up."

"Well, get up and look out the window. I bet you'll like what you see."

Rolling my eyes, I stood up and walked to my window. Looking outside, I didn't see the backyard. I saw a blanket of white snow all over everything: covering the ground, the tree branches, everything. It was amazing.

"WOW!" I cried. "Jericho, I'll call you back in a few minutes. I'm gonna go jump in the snow!"

"Wait, Duo, before you do, you need to know that--" I hung up the phone before Jericho could finish her sentence.

I raced down the stairs in my boxers and t-shirt. Jon and Diana heard me flying from my room and they came out of the kitchen in time to see me disappear out the door.

"Duo! Wait!" Diana cried as the door slammed shut behind me.

The snow was about a foot deep. I leaped off the porch, ready to dive in and have fun all morning in the magical stuff called snow.

Unfortunately, no one ever told me that the magical stuff called snow was also magically freezing cold! As soon as my bare feet entered the snow, I knew I had made a huge mistake. Thefreezing temperatureof the snow hit me with a shock. "Yeah, okay Duo, bad idea," I said to myself through chattering teeth. "Boxers and snow do not mix."

It didn't help the fact any that the little girl who delivered the morning paper was standing in our driveway, staring at me like I was some sort of freak. I smiled sheepishly at her, and then turned and ran back inside.

"Jeez, it's freezing out there!" I cried as I closed the door behind me.

Diana and Jon were still standing in the kitchen doorway, staring at me incredulously. Then, at the same time, they burst into laughter.

"Duo, go take a warm shower and then go back to bed," Diana said through her laughing. "We'll get you up in a couple of hours."

I nodded and went upstairs, feeling slightly stupid.

"I don't believe you actually ran out into the snow in your boxers!" Jericho said, giggling. It was later that day, and we were in her atrium. I was working on building the motor while she drew up some blue prints for the colony models.

"I was wearing a t-shirt, too," I said, pouting.

"Oh, well, excuse me. That changes everything," she replied, snickering.

"It's not my fault. I've never seen snow up close before. How was I supposed to know it was so cold?"

"Doesn't it snow in the colonies? I mean, I thought you have climate controls up there."

I shrugged. "In some of the more wealthy colonies, I guess it does," I replied. "But in my colony, we didn't have money to spend on weather besides sunny and rainy."

"You didn't even have snow for Christmas?" Jericho asked.

I shook my head. "Nah. I guess some people wanted it, but it never bothered me that we didn't have snow then. I mean, heck, what does Christmas mean to a street urchin? Nothing, except a reminder that you don't have anyone to celebrate with. For kids with no family, Christmas is just another day you have to survive. What does it matter if there's snow or not? Heck, half the time I didn't even know it was Christmas until after it happened."

Jericho frowned. "You never celebrated Christmas as a little kid? Not even at the church?"

"I've never celebrated it, period." I looked up and caught sight of Jericho's face. It held a strange mixture of wonder, pity, sadness, and confusion. I had seen that expression before, and it made me uncomfortable. "Don't worry about it Jericho. I mean, look at it this way. When I was little, I had no money to celebrate with. After the Maxwell Church was destroyed, I didn't really have any friends to celebrate with. Then, the last two years, I've spent Christmas eve fighting and Christmas sleeping it off."

"And this year?" Jericho asked. "Will you celebrate this year?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. I haven't really thought about it. I mean, it's weird, to go all my life without the possibility of Christmas, and then having it be just an expected part of my life. What am I supposed to do? I mean, do I sing Happy Birthday to Jesus, and go participate in a pageant about a God I've been trying to avoid since I was eight?"

Jericho put down her pencil, stood up, and walked over to the table where I was working. "You don't have to do that if you don't want to," she replied. "I mean, Christmas can be a time to celebrate with friends and family."

I smiled and tightened a screw on the motor. "Celebrate what?" I asked.

She shrugged and gently took the screwdriver from me. "I dunno. You can celebrate friendship, or family ties. Celebrate the joys in your life, the loves." She smiled. "There must be something you can celebrate."

"Well, between you and the guys, I guess I have reason enough to celebrate friendship," I said, leaning against the table. I watched her play with the screwdriver. I needed it back to continue my work on the motor, but for the moment I was happy to just watch Jericho twirl it in her hands while we talked.

"Yeah, that's right. You can celebrate the fact that you have friends," she said with a little laugh. "And, see, it isn't religious at all. I think God actually likes it when we take a religious holiday and change it around if we need to. I think it makes Him happy when we are happy."

"So you believe in God?" I asked her. We had had this conversation before, and I knew her answer, but I just wanted to keep listening to her talk.

"Yeah, I believe in God," she said. "And snow days just make my faith in Him deeper."

"Why?" I asked. "Because they give you a break from homework?"

Jericho shook her head. "No. Because they give me a break from James and his friends."

I nodded in silent agreement. It was actually a relief to have a day away from them. It was really annoying having to watch my back wherever I went. However, I was getting better at avoided them, and I was starting to fight back. I had managed to trip some of them in the hall a few times, winning me some respect from the other "undesirable" students who were treated almost as badly as Jericho and I were.

"Can I have the screw driver back?" I asked.

"Sure," she handed me the tool and grinned at me. She went back and sat down at her drawing table and a comfortable silence fell over us.

"Hey, Duo, what do you want for Christmas?" Jericho asked after a while.

I didn't answer at first. Instead, I sat and thought about the question. What did I want for Christmas? I wanted a lot of stuff. "Hilde," I said finally. "I want Hilde back. And Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. And Solo. Hell, I'd settle for Professor G." I sighed and turned to Jericho. "I don't know what I want for Christmas that you can give me, Jericho. It's just…I dunno. I'm not the easiest person to shop for."

"No one is if you really care about them," she replied. After a pause, she added. "You really miss the colonies, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. I miss my colony a lot. But it's not the colony itself that I miss so much as my friends in the colonies. Heero and Trowa and Quatre and WuFei. I miss them all a lot. Even if half the time they were telling me to leave them alone or to be quiet or to stop being annoying."

"Jeez, I wonder why they told you that," Jericho said, teasing me.

I stuck my tongue out at her. "I'll get you for that," I told her.

And I did. Later that day when she was walking me home, I managed to put a snowball down her back. Jericho cried out in fury and chased me the rest of the way to my house. I dashed inside and locked the door behind me. I then stood, leaning against the door, and listened as Jericho pounded on the door, demanding that I come out and face her like a man. She sounded mad, but I knew she was smiling. Personally, I was cracking up.

Diana came down the stairs to investigate the loud shouts and banging. "Duo, what's going on?" Diana asked as she peered out of the window beside the door. "Why is Jericho outside screaming at you?"

I grinned at Diana. "I put a snowball down her back. She wants revenge."

Diana raised an eyebrow at me. "Duo, I don't think she wants revenge. I think…"she trailed off and shook her head. "Never mind."

"What?" I asked her. "What were you going to say?"

She smiled. "Duo, you might not know this, but usually, when a boy does something like put snow down a girl's neck or pokes her, it means he likes her. Really likes her. As in as more than a friend."

I stared blankly at Diana. "What? You think I…that Jericho…WHAT?"

Diana shrugged. "Maybe I'm just reading into it," she said as she turned and headed back up the stairs. "But if I am, then the rest of the neighborhood is, too."

The pounding on the door stopped. "Okay Duo, I've got to get home," Jericho called from the other side of the door. "So I'll get you back next time I see you. Bye!"

"Bye!" I called, waving at her through the window. Her cheeks were a rosy color from running in the cold and then pounding on the door. I gulped. God, it seemed like every time I looked at her she was prettier than the time before. She waved at me and headed home.

I pulled off my coat and boots and went into the kitchen, thinking about what Diana had said. Everyone in the neighborhood thought I liked Jericho? Where on Earth did they get that crazy idea?

But the thing was, it wasn't such a crazy idea. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I knew it was true. I really liked spending time with Jericho, and I thought she was really pretty. And there had been a time or two where I had been tempted to just grab her and kiss her, but I hadn't.

Why hadn't I? What had stopped me from kissing her? What had stopped me from taking our friendship to the next level? I couldn't say that we didn't know each other very well. After spending the better part of three months almost exclusively with each other, we practically knew everything there was to know about each other.

Maybe I was scared that Jericho would reject me. Maybe she would tell me she just wanted to be friends. Or that I had been misreading some of the looks she had given me.

I pulled a frozen pizza out of the freezer. I still hadn't reached the desirable weight the doctor had told me to aim for. I just was having a hard time maintaining my former appetite. I hadn't really been able to eat like a pig since Hilde had died.

Hilde…That was another reason why I hadn't tried anything with Jericho. I still missed Hilde. I felt as though I was betraying her by liking another girl. It was bad enough that I was the reason she had died; I didn't want to ruin her memory anymore by moving on to someone else.

I slid the pizza into oven as the phone rang. I picked the phone up.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hi, is this the Christopher residence?" a familiar voice asked at the other.

Grinning, I replied, "Yes, Quatre it is. This is Duo. What's up?"

"Duo! Hi! I almost didn't recognize your voice."

I laughed. "Heero would be disappointed in you, Quatre."

Quatre laughed at that. "I know. I just don't have the same steal trap for my memory that he does."

"So what's going on Quatre?" I asked him as I hopped up to sit on the counter. Diana would yell at me if she saw me, but I didn't worry about it, because I had seen her sit up on the counter too.

"Well, actually, Duo, I'm on Earth at the moment. I'm in New York City."

"New York City!" I cried. "Quatre, that's like, two hours away! You totally have to come up and visit!"

"That's what I'm calling you about. I'd love to see you and…" he paused.

"And…?" I prompted.

"Well, do you remember that e-mail I sent you a few months ago?" he asked. "The one asking if it would be alright for me to take Jericho out on a date?"

"Yeah…wait, you wanna take Jericho out on a date when you come up here and visit?" I asked.

"Yes, I would like to…that is, if you and she aren't, you know, together," Quatre said, sounding like he was almost expecting me to tell him Jericho and I were a couple.

"What? Me and Jericho? Together?" I laughed, even though my heart was practically breaking. "Nah. We're just friends. Go ahead and take her out. Be my guest," I said, forcing myself to sound happy, all the while my brain was screaming, _No, you can't take her out. She's mine. I saw her first! _

"Oh, wow, great!" Quatre said. He sounded genuinely happy that I had okayed the date. "Do you know what she's doing tomorrow night?"

"Nothing," I replied. "If you weren't coming, she and I would probably just hang out and work on our science fair project."

"Oh, okay. Well, what are you doing tomorrow?"

We made plans. Quatre would arrive around noon at my house. We would then go around town in a limousine, and I would show Quatre "the sights" (I had no idea what "the sights" were, but I figured the mall and my favorite coffee shop could qualify if I was desperate.) At four, Quatre and I would go pick up Jericho, and then I would be dropped off at home and they would go on the date. Quatre had asked me to set the date up with Jericho, and not tell her who was going to be taking her out.

"But suggest that she dress very nicely," Quatre said. "I've heard of a restaurant in your area that is supposed to be very good, and I would like to try it."

"Sure thing, Quatre," I said, resisting the temptation to hang up on him. I knew Quatre wasn't doing this to hurt my feelings, so I didn't have any reason to be mad at him.

When I got off the phone with Quatre, I called Jericho.

"Hello?" Jericho answered.

"Hey Jericho, it's Duo. Listen, tomorrow at four, a limousine will arrive at your house. The guy inside will want to take you out to dinner at some nice restaurant. He's a really nice guy and I…I think you should accept his invitation." _Why the hell am I telling her to accept the invitation?_

"Duo? Are you okay? What are you talking about? Who's the guy?" Jericho questioned.

"He's a friend. A really close friend," I replied. "Tomorrow afternoon. Four o'clock. Will you be ready?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Jericho said, still sounding kind of confused. "What should I wear?"

"I dunno," I said tersely. "How about a skirt and blouse if you have one?"

Jericho laughed. "I have skirts and blouses. Okay, yeah, I'll go. Tomorrow at four, right? I'll be ready. See you then."

My jaw dropped. She thought the guy was me! "No, Jericho, wait!" But she hung up the phone before I could correct her mistake.

I sighed and hung up the phone. That was another reason why I hadn't tried to kiss Jericho. She deserved someone better than me, someone like Quatre. He had money and a family name. I didn't have anything except flashbacks and old battle scars.

The smoke alarm suddenly started going off, startling me out of my dejected thoughts. I rushed to the oven and pulled out the black, charred remains of the frozen pizza.

"Wonderful," I groaned as I dumped the pizza into the garbage can.

I went upstairs and flopped down on my bed. _I thought snow days were supposed to be fun. No one ever mentioned one of your best friends asking the girl you like out._

For the first time since I had met him, I was dreading a visit from Quatre.


	21. Chapter 21: Saturday and Night

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. (But in 8-10 weeks, I'll be owning a DUO PLUSHIE!!! )

**A/N** I know, I know, only one chapter this update, but seriously, in the time it took me to write this chapter, I can usually put out two or maybe even three. I have never had a chapter that was so freakingdifficult to write. To all you Quatre fans, I'm sorry that he's used mroe as a plot device than as a character, but this is all from Duo's perspective, and I think that with all he's gone through, he's allowed to be at least a little selfish! (And maybe if people ask REALLY nicely, I can bring him back later on in the story... )

Oh, and I finally know where this story is going (yeah, it did take me this long to figure it out) but I'm still open to suggestions.

**_

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_**Chapter Twenty-One: Saturday and Night**_

I got up at nine the next morning to get ready to go hang out with Quatre. I took a shower and got dressed. I combed out my hair and braided it and then looked at myself in the mirror. Quatre was probably going to be wearing his usual button-up shirt and vest and khakis, and I hoped that my sweater and nice jeans wouldn't look too casual in comparison.

I went into the TV room and zoned out for a while watching Saturday morning cartoons. I was happy I was going to be seeing Quatre again, but that joy was overshadowed by the fact that he was going to be taking Jericho out on a date that night. _I should be the one taking Jericho out_, I thought. _Not Quatre._

It was funny, really. I mean, there I was, jealous of _Quatre_ of all people. And I was jealous of him over a _girl_. I hadn't even realized that Quatre had discovered girls yet.

I eventually got bored with Bugs Bunny and Roadrunner, and I headed downstairs to the kitchen. Jon was loading the dishwasher while Diana flipped through a cookbook.

"Hey, Duo, how does shrimp scampi sound for dinner tonight?" Diana asked me as I opened the fridge, looking for something to eat.

"Sounds fine," I replied.

"Okay, good." She marked the page she had been looking at and closed the cookbook. "So, what's on your agenda for the day?"

"I'm going out with a friend," I replied. "I'll be home around four."

"What friend?" Jon asked. "Jericho?"

I shook my head. "You don't know him, but you'll meet him when he gets here."

"Alright."

I pulled the cookbook towards me and began flipping through the pages. The food looked really good, and I recognized some of the recipes as stuff that Hilde had used to make. _I wonder if Jericho's a good cook,_ I thought.

After a while, Diana looked up from what she was doing. "Was that a car in the driveway?" she asked. I shrugged. She stood up and went into the front hall. I heard her make a strange noise that sounded an awful lot like surprise, and then she reappeared in the kitchen doorway. "Duo, do you know anything about the limousine that's parked in our driveway?"

I glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Jeez! It's noon already!" I cried, jumping up.

The doorbell rang. I hurried to answer it with Diana and Jon following close behind. I opened the door and there stood Quatre. He had grown a little taller since I had seen him last in September, and his shoulders seemed slightly broader than I remembered. He still had the same big blue eyes and platinum-blond hair, though.

"Duo!" he cried at the same moment I cried "Quatre!"

We embraced, and for a second I forgot to feel unhappy about his date with Jericho. It felt so good to see one of my friends from the colonies again.

When we let go, I turned to Diana and Jon. "Diana, Jon, this is Quatre Rababa Winner. Quatre, these are my foster parents, Diana and Jon Christopher."

"Nice to meet you," Quatre said warmly as he shook hands with them. "I've heard a lot about you from Duo, and I express the deepest thanks of all our friends for what you're doing for him."

Diana and Jon smiled at him. "What are your plans for the day?" Jon asked.

"Just showing Quatre around town. I was thinking maybe we could go the museum. I'll be back by four though," I told them as I pulled on my coat and boots.

"Alright. You boys have fun," Diana said. "See you later!"

The limo Quatre had come in wasn't incredibly big, but it still was obviously a limo. A couple of neighborhood kids were standing along the sidewalk, peering at it as we got in. Quatre smiled at them and waved. They all backed away shyly.

"People around here aren't really used to seeing things out of the ordinary," I told him as the chauffer shut the door behind us.

He laughed. "Then how have you survived here?"

"I avoid most people," I replied.

"Oh."

We drove to the mall and got out, telling the chauffer to come pick us up in an hour. We walked around the mall, looking at different stores and talking. Quatre told me about how his family business was going. He was turning into quite the businessman. Apparently the company was expanding and starting a branch on Earth, which was why he was on Earth in the first place. He told me that Trowa's circus troop was doing very well, and that Trowa was becoming very well known for his acrobatics. Heero worked for the Preventers, and his permanent assignment was to guard Relena. WuFei was also working for the Preventers, and there were whispers of him and Sally becoming an item in the near future. I didn't see it happening though; those two were arguing every time I saw them together. Zechs and Noin had disappeared somewhere—presumably together—a few days before, and no one had heard anything from them since.

"They probably eloped," I said grinning as we stopped to get fruit smoothies.

"That is the general consensus," Quatre said, returning my grin.

After the mall, Quatre and I went to the local museum. They had a lot of exhibits on the native people of the area, and Quatre spent a lot of time looking at those displays. I had already been to the museum with my history class, so I explained stuff to Quatre that he didn't understand. I didn't tell him that Jericho had done the same thing for me when I had first visited the museum. In fact, I was trying really hard not to think of Jericho because it just reminded me that she was going out to dinner with Quatre that night.

"Duo, are you all right?" Quatre asked. "You're awfully quiet today."

"Oh, I'm fine," I replied, giving him a big smile. Like many of my smiles, I knew it was fake but he didn't. "I was just thinking about someone."

Quatre put a hand on my shoulder. "We all miss Hilde, Duo. And we all miss you. You should have seen the fit Heero threw when Lady Une first announced that you were being sent to Earth. I thought for sure he was going to shoot her."

I raised my eyebrows. "He threw a fit over it?" I hadn't even realized he had cared that much about me being sent away.

"Yeah," Quatre said. "He got really mad, and yelled at Lady Une, saying how the last thing you needed was to be pulled away from us when we were your family. It took me, Trowa, and WuFei to hold him back."

"Wow. I didn't know about that," I said, looking at the floor.

"We figured it would just make the move more stressful for you if you knew how upset we all were over it."

I was speechless. I was the last person I would expect Heero to throw a fit over.

"Hey Duo, what's this exhibit of?" Quarter asked, walking over to another display case.

"Those are weapons," I answered, assuming Jericho's role once again.

Much to my dismay, four o'clock did finally roll around and sooner than I would have liked, we were pulling into Jericho's driveway.

Quatre and I got out of the car and went up the front walk. I rang the bell, and Megan answered the door.

"Hi Duo," she said as she let us in. "Jericho should be down in just a minute. Who's your friend?"

"Megan, this is my friend Quatre Rababa Winner. Quatre, this is Jericho's mom, Megan Van Buren."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Van Buren," Quatre said politely as they shook hands.

Jericho appeared at the top of the stairs. She was wearing a black ankle length skirt that had a slit up the side, and a red Chinese style blouse. She had done her hair up into a bun with a pair of fancy chopsticks. She was putting earrings in as she came down the stairs. She looked beautiful.

"Hey Duo," she said smiling. "How do I look?"

"You look…you look amazing," I said, my eyes wide. I took a deep breath and tore my eyes from her. "Jericho, you remember Quatre right?"

"Yes, of course I do," she said with a smile, extending her hand to him. "How could I forget him? Nice to finally meet you in person, Mr. Winner."

"Please, call me Quatre," he said, taking her hand and kissing it. Jericho blushed and I nearly gagged. I had never thought Quatre would have been the cheesy-romantic type.

"So, Duo, where are we going out to dinner?" Jericho asked, turning back to me.

I smiled slightly. "You're slightly mistaken, Jericho. I'm not the one taking you out. Quatre is."

Jericho looked from me to Quatre, confused. "What?"

"I called Duo last night, and asked if he would set up a date for you and me," Quatre explained. "He said you would probably enjoy it. Do you still want to go?"

_Please say no,_ I silently begged.

"Well, yes, of course!" Jericho said, beaming at him. "I'm flattered that you want to take me out to dinner."

"Please, Miss Jericho, I'm the one being flattered by your acceptance," Quatre said, smiling back.

I had a feeling I really was going to be sick. Only one thing was keeping me from throwing up there and then, and it was the fact that Quatre was being sincere. He really did like Jericho a lot.

"Shall we go then?" Quatre asked.

"Yes, of course," Jericho said with a nod.

I watched as Quatre helped her into her coat and opened the door for her. It was almost too much for me to handle.

We went outside and walked to the limo. "You know what Quatre, I think I'm gonna walk home."

Quatre laughed. "Don't be silly, Duo. Let me give you a lift home."

"Nah," I said, shaking my head. "I don't wanna be a third wheel. I'll just walk home."

"Oh, Com'n Duo," Jericho said, taking me by the wrist and pulling me towards the limo. "Ride with us! I've never been in a limo before!" She was smiling, and she looked so pretty with her hair and her earrings, that I really wanted to say yes if it meant I could spend just a few more seconds staring at her.

But instead of saying yes, I pulled away from her grasp. "No!" I snapped. Then, taking a deep breath, I said more calmly, "Thanks for the offer Quatre, but I'm serious. I'll just walk home."

Quatre frowned, and I knew I had hurt his feelings by refusing his offer, but that couldn't be helped. "Okay Duo, if that's what you want."

We embraced and said farewell. "I'm not sure when we'll see each other again, Duo," Quatre said, looking somewhat sad. Then he leaned in closer to me. "But I'm sure that if Miss Jericho and I hit it off, you and I will see plenty of each other."

"Sounds great Quatre." God, at that moment, I really just wanted to throttle him.

I stood on the Van Buren's front walk and watched as Jericho and Quatre got into the limo and drove off. When I was sure that they were well out of sight, I let out a small cry of anger and frustration and kicked a nearby tree with all my might. I felt something in my foot pop and winced in pain.

"Are you all right Duo?" I heard Megan's voice call from behind me.

I whirled and saw Megan and David standing on the porch, staring at me with worried expressions. They had seen me kick the tree. I felt the blood rush full-force to my face. "Y…Yeah, I'm fine," I said. "I was just…uh…Just checking the integrity of this tree trunk." I reached out with my foot and lightly kicked the tree again. "Yep, this, uh…this tree is, uh, is definitely up to code. I can tell the local landscaping inspectors that they don't have to worry about this one…I'm gonna go home now."

I turned and limped as fast as I could away from the Van Burens' house.

When I got home, Diana was just putting dinner on the table. "We're eating early tonight because Jon and I are going to go see a movie later. You'll be alright being along here for a couple of hours, right?"

Sighing, I nodded. "I'll probably just spend the night on the computer anyway, doing research for school…or something."

Dinner was really good, but I didn't eat too much. Every time I looked at my plate, I thought about Jericho and Quatre sitting in some nice fancy restaurant, sipping alcohol-free wine and flirting up a storm. Quatre would probably be entertaining her with his stories of growing up as the only boy out of thirty children, or stories of his friends the Maguanac Corps. Jericho was probably hanging on his every word, her face glowing in the candlelight and the light bouncing off her earrings. _Knowing my luck,_ I thought, _she's probably falling for him already._

"Where does that leave me?" I mumbled, not realizing I was speaking out loud.

"What was that Duo?" Jon asked, breaking of the sentence he was saying to Diana.

"Nothing," I said quickly. "I was just thinking about homework, that's all."

"Are you feeling alright, Duo? You've hardly touched your shrimp scampi," Diana observed.

I opened my mouth to tell her what was bothering me, but I decided against it. After all, I didn't have to tell them about my love life if I didn't want to. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not hungry. Quatre and I ate a late lunch." It wasn't really a lie. We did have large fruit smoothies around one o'clock, and I was still somewhat full from that.

"Oh, well, if you want, you can be excused. I'll put the leftovers in the fridge and you can heat them up when you get hungry, okay?"

"Okay." I got up from the table and went up stairs. I sat down at my computer and logged on to my messaging system.

To my surprise, WuFei was logged on as well. Turning on my web cam and putting on my headset, I opened a new message window. "Hey WuFei! What's up?"

I knew my message was accepted because I received a video link back from WuFei's computer. The thing though was that it wasn't WuFei on the screen, but Sally. And she looked like she was wearing a dress! She smiled warmly at me. "Hi Duo. How are you?"

My jaw dropped. "Sally! What are you doing on WuFei's computer? Does he know you're using it?" I asked.

She chuckled. "He told me I could use it to check my e-mail while he gets ready to go."

"Go?" I asked. "Go where?"

"We're going to the theater tonight. They're performing Shakespeare's _Hamlet_," Sally explained. WuFei suddenly appeared behind Sally, dressed in a suit and tie.

"Wait a minute," I cried. "You mean you guys are going…_together?_ As in _on a date?_"

WuFei raised an eyebrow and leaned in towards the computer. "Yes Maxwell, that is what some people call it."

My jaw dropped even further. What was the world coming too? WuFei and Sally were together? _The Apocalypse must be near! _I thought.

"Sorry to cut this transmission short, Maxwell, but we're supposed to meet Heero and Relena in half an hour. We need to leave. We'll talk again soon," WuFei said. He closed the connection before I could even say goodbye.

I sat staring at the screen in a daze. _Sally and WuFei together?_ _No way! Heero and WuFei agreeing to go on a double date? DOUBLE NO WAY!_

"Duo! We're leaving," Diana called from downstairs. "We'll be back around ten."

"Okay," I called back. "You kids have fun!"

I heard the front door close and I was alone.

I sighed and checked my e-mail. Nothing new. I stared at my computer for a moment, thinking. I was bored and trying not to think of Jericho. On a whim, I went to the website for Trowa's circus. I smiled when I saw that Trowa and Catherine were one of the main attractions now, and the opening page of the site was mostly a huge picture of them. I checked the show dates and saw that there wasn't a show that night. _I haven't talked to Trowa in a while,_ I thought. _Maybe he'd like to talk for a it._

I dug around in my desk until I found Trowa's phone number. I dialed it and waited eagerly for him to answer.

"Hello?" a female voice answered.

"Uh, hi, this is Duo Maxwell, I'm a friend of Trowa's. Can I please talk to him?"

"Oh, hi Duo! This is Catherine. And I'm sorry; he's out on a date this evening. Is there a message I could give him for you?"

"Um, no, not really. I just sort of called just 'cause I was bored and wanted to talk. If you could tell him I called, that'd be good. He doesn't have to call me back, though."

"Okay," Catherine said, and she sounded like she was smiling. "I'll tell him for you. Thanks for calling Duo. Nice to know that you're not dead."

I forced a natural sounding laugh. "Yeah, well, it's not that easy to get rid of me. Talk to you later Catherine."

"Bye," she said. We hung up.

Groaning, I put my elbows on my desk and put my head in my hands. I couldn't believe my luck! Not only was one of my best friends out on a date with the girl I liked, but the rest of my best friends were out on dates themselves. Even my foster parents were out on a date, and they were old! Well, okay, they weren't old, but they were older than me.

"Why me?" I asked the silence of the house. "Why is it always me that this happens to?"

Since I had nothing better to do, I got out my English assignment and went down to the front room. Benny was asleep on the couch. He woke up and looked at me when I came in.

"Hey Benny buddy," I said, plopping down onto the couch next to him. "Wanna help me read for English?" He answered by licking my hand.

I smiled and settled down to read. We were starting a new unit in English, and we were going to be reading a bunch of short stories and a novel by a man named Ernest Hemingway (1). Our homework over the weekend was to read a packet of information on Hemingway's life.

The beginning of the reading assignment wasn't that bad. In fact, at some points it was down right entertaining. One thing that got me laughing really hard was that Hemingway's mother dressed him as a girl for the first four or five years of his life (2). However, the reading went south for me when it started talking about Hemingway's love life. Apparently, the guy fell in love with a nurse during the First World War, and when that didn't work out, he moved on and got married. In fact, he got married _four_ times (3).

I threw the packet down in disgust. "Hemingway was a chauvinist jerk and he still had more luck in his love life than I do!" I looked at Benny. "I'm a nice guy, right Benny? I mean, I should have girls falling over themselves trying to get to me, right?" Benny looked up at me, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, and he appeared to be smiling. I couldn't tell if he was agreeing with me or laughing at me. I reached over and petted his head. "But then why is it that Quatre…_Quatre_…is out on a date with Jericho? Am I really that pathetic?"

Benny looked away from me for a minute, then jumped off the couch and trotted into the dining room, almost as if he was saying, "I don't think you want me to answer that."

I watched him go into the dining room. _Man's best friend? _I thought. _Yeah, right._

* * *

(1) Ernest Hemingway is my favorite author, and I think everyone should read at least one of his books. I suggest _The Old Man and the Sea_ or some of his shourt stories to start off with. However, be warned: he definitely has…special…opinions on women.

(2) It's true! As an adult, Hemingway was the ideal "macho man", going on safaris and killing things for "sport". However, as a little kid, his mom dressed him in dresses and ribbons. Heh, no wonder he wanted to kill things so much when he was an adult. He probably had a lot of pent up rage from that…

(3) Yes, he did marry four times. I know what you're thinking: PICK A GIRL AND STAY WITH HER! Well, like I told you, he had…special…opinions on women.

* * *

Please Review! I love you all, and I'll give shout-outs to all my reviewer's next chappie! 


	22. Chapter 22: Results and a Hero

Disclaimer: nope, I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. I do own the plot of this story though, so please don't steal it.

A/N: This chapter is a lot shorter than usual, I know, but like the last one, it was really hard to write. I just got back to college yesterday, and I spent most of this afternoon and this evening moving stuff around in my dorm room with my roommate. The set up is a lot better now, but it too FOREVER for us to find an arrangement that satisfied us both…ANYWAY, last chapter, I promised Shout-outs to all my reviewers, so they'reat the end of the chapter(the shout-outs will make this chapter seem longer than it really is, too.; )

And I hope people didn't think I was being too cruel to Duo in the last chapter by having all of his friends out and him stuck at home with only Jericho to think about. I'm sorry to admit it, but I like torturing my characters just a tad every once in a while. Keeps them in line, heh heh….

Now, on with the chapter….

* * *

_**Chapter 22: Results and a Hero**_

I was still sitting on the couch in the front room, moping and just feeling sorry for myself in general when the phone rang two and a half hours later. Even though there was a phone right next to the couch, I didn't move to answer it. I let the machine pick up and listened to who it was.

"Hey, Duo, it's Jericho. I just got home from my date with Quatre, and I'd like to talk to you. It's kind of important. I guess you're not near the phone. I'll try back later. Bye." She hung up.

I went back to staring at the wall, this time wondering what was so important that she wanted to tell me about. _"Oh Duo, thank you so much for setting me and Quatre up. It was love at first sight and we're gonna get married next week! Quatre's supposed to call you to ask you to be best man."_ I groaned at the thought, and as if on cue, the phone rang again. I once again let the machine pick it up.

"Hello, Duo, it's Quatre…"

_Speak of the devil! _I thought. _So, when's the wedding, lover boy?_

"…I just dropped Jericho off at her house, and I thought I should talk to you about what happened on our date, since you seemed to be upset when we left. So, please pick up the phone. I know you're just sitting next to the machine, listening to my message. You did this when Hilde died, and I'm not going to-"

I cut him off by snatching the phone off the hook and putting it to my ear. "You know me way too well for your own good, you know that Quatre?" I said. "What's up? How was your date?" I was forcing myself to sound happy and easy-going, when really I wanted to throw the phone across the room.

"It was fun," Quatre replied. "Jericho is a wonderful girl. We get along great and our conversation was very fulfilling."

"Congratulations," I said, fighting to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. "I hope you two are happy together."

"I'm afraid you didn't let me finish, Duo," Quatre said, and I could hear the disappointment in his voice. "The date went fine, but I think she is much more your type than my type."

I blinked and sent a funny look to Benny who had wandered back into the room. "What? What makes you say that Quatre?"

"Well, the fact that you were practically all she wanted to talk about was a pretty big hint," he said, chuckling.

I frowned. "It's not nice to play jokes, Quatre, no matter how funny they are. That's what you used to always tell me whenever I put salt in WuFei's coffee instead of sugar."

"That was so that you would stop before he ended up hurting you. Anyways, I'm not joking, Duo. I'm very serious. No matter what we were talking about, she always managed to mention you. Not that I minded," he added. "I don't mind talking about you, and it is definitely interesting hearing about the ways you've been getting into trouble here on Earth without us to keep you in line."

I laughed. "Oh, jeez, what did she tell you?"

"Nothing terrible," Quatre replied, allowing me to relax. "But Duo, if my taking Jericho out bothered you so much, why didn't you say something? I wouldn't have ever taken her out to dinner if I knew you would be so bothered by it."

I winced. "I guess I didn't tell you because I didn't want to keep you and Jericho from being happy," I replied. "I mean, it'd be pretty selfish of me to keep you from dating her when I don't even know if she likes me as much as I like her. Does that make sense?"

"It makes perfect sense," Quatre said. "Thank you for the thought, but don't torture yourself over me. I'll survive if I don't get to take every girl I want to out to dinner."

"I'm sure Dorothy Catalonia will be glad to hear that," I said teasingly. "How is she by the way?"

I could almost hear Quatre blush as he replied. "Last time I saw her, she was doing quite well."

I grinned. I loved teasing Quatre about the blond girl who had a very obvious crush on him.

"Well, I'm glad we got that all cleared up," Quatre said. "I'll say hi to the others when I get back to space. Good seeing you Duo, and I hope we'll talk again soon."

"Yeah, same here Quatre. Talk to you later."

As soon as I hung up the phone, it rang again. I didn't pick it up. I was still a little down. Besides, I was thinking about Jericho, and wondering why she had spent so much of her time with Quatre talking about me. And lately, just _thinking_ about Jericho kept me from acting like a normal human being.

_Yeah, like you act like a normal being most of the time,_ I thought to myself with a smile.

"Duo Maxwell, you pick this phone up right now!" It was Jericho again, and she sounded annoyed. "I know you're there! I just tried calling a minute ago, and the line was busy, and I know it wasn't Diana or Jon because they would answer the phone before it got to the machine, and certainly before I could leave this long of a message. Now, pick up the phone right now! I need to talk to you about the science project."

I rolled my eyes and picked up the phone. "You rang?"

.0.

I was beginning to really hate gym. Well, not hate it. More like hate it with an undying passion.

The reason for this was James. Bruising my jaw and tearing my shirt hadn't satisfied him. During gym, he and his friends used me for target practice. No matter what sport we were playing, by the end of the period my shins would be bruised, my shoulder would be sore, or I would be limping. Of course they were careful to attack me only when Mr. Kingsly wasn't looking or when they could make it look like an accident. I wanted so badly to take James out—I knew I could do it— but I knew I would only get in trouble and so I didn't.

Jericho had gym the same period I did, and a few weeks before winter break, our classes were combined into the same gym because the girl's gym was getting a new floor put in. The gym teachers decided to make life easy for themselves and put up a bunch of stations around the gym. The stations were things like "do forty sit-ups" or "jump rope for two minutes". We had a piece of paper, and we had to check off each station as we completed it. The teachers spent their time supervising the kids who were climbing the rope.

Jericho and I went from station to station together. After her date with Quatre, things between us continued had on like nothing had happened. I had asked her how the date had been, and she had simply said, "It was nice. Quatre's a nice guy and the food was good. Could you pass me that hot glue gun?" Apparently there hadn't been any major fire works between them because I heard nothing from either of them about a second date.

"Thirty-eight… thirty-nine…forty. Wow Duo, I've never seen anyone do sit ups that fast!" Jericho said as I finished up one station.

I shook my head. "I'm getting out of shape. When I was a pilot, I could have done that without even getting winded," I said, trying to catch my breath and rubbing my sore abdomen.

"You're such a couch potato," Jericho said, poking my stomach. She frowned. "You're not as soft as most couch potatoes are though. Are you sure you eat enough?"

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "You've seen me eat. I just have a fast metabolism. Let's go over to the rope next."

Jericho's frown grew. "Nah…" she said, looking around. "Let's go to the pull-up station."

"But there's like twenty people over there!" I said. "There are only three people at the rope station."

"Yeah, but one of them's James, " she replied.

I took another look over at the rope climbing station. Sure enough, there was James, one of his lackeys, and that girl Kristen who had offered to take me shopping.

Sighing, I turned to Jericho. "They're just humans, Jericho. It's not like they're going to roast you over a fire and then eat you. Besides, the teachers are over there. What can James do to us with teachers around?"

"Good point. Okay, let's go," Jericho agreed, still frowning.

We walked over to the station. When James saw us, he sneered at us. "Well, well, well. It's the Twerp Twins. How are today?" he asked, a sick sweet smile across his face.

"Fine," I replied coolly. Jericho pretended he hadn't said anything.

"Okay, who's next?" Mr. Kingsly asked as James's lackey climbed back down to the bottom of the rope.

James sent me a sneer and stepped forward. "I'll go next." He grabbed the rope and began to climb. He was strong and made it up the rope fairly quickly, but I knew I could do it faster. He reached the red tape that was the expected distance and then climbed down without going for the bell that was another six or seven feet up. From what I could see, no one in the class had managed to make it to the bell yet. I knew James could have done it if he had wanted to, but I had begun to notice that he was on the lazy side.

"Good job James," Mr. Kingsly said as James reached the floor. "Record time for this class: ten-point-eight seconds."

James grinned and turned to me. "Better than you could ever dream, Maxwell," he said with narrow eyes.

_That's what you think, you jerk,_ I thought. "Mr. Kingsly," I said aloud stepping up to the rope. "I'll go next."

"Okay Duo. You go right on ahead. Now, you don't have to do it really fast. Just climb up as far as you can. Shoot for the red tape."

"Mmkay," I said. I was shooting farther than just for the red tape.

I grabbed the rope and when Mr. Kingsly said, "Go," I started climbing. I was more out of shape than I thought, and my arms were weaker than they had been when I was a pilot. But I ignored the pain in my arms and bolted up the rope as fast as I could.

"Good job Duo! Ten-point-three seconds! Even better than James!" Mr. Kingsly gushed. "Come on down!"

I looked down to the group below. James was glaring up at me, his face turning redder than the tape on the rope. His friends were following suit. But it was Jericho's face that really got me. She was staring up at me, her huge brown eyes shining, and a beautiful big smile spread across her face. She was looking up at me like I was a hero. I had been planning on going back down the rope without reaching the bell because my arms were tired, but when I saw Jericho's expression, I felt energy come back to me. I smiled back at her, and then kept climbing. I was going to reach that bell for Jericho.

"Duo, you really don't have to keep climbing!" Mr. Kingsley called up to me. "Really! That bell isn't mandatory."

"GO DUO!" Jericho suddenly cheered. "You can do it!"

My arms were burning, but I was almost there, so I kept going.

"Maxwell, stop showing off!" James shouted at me. I could hear the jealousy and hatred in his voice. I ignored him and concentrated on Jericho's cheering.

I reached the bell and hit it with my hand. "MADE IT!" I shouted, looking down to Jericho. Her smile had only grown and she was clapping.

I was so busy staring at her that I hadn't noticed my arms had reached their limit until suddenly they gave way, and I began to fall. "DUO!" Jericho cried. I clung to the rope with my hands and tried to slow myself with my feet. It didn't work, and my hands were getting some pretty bad rope burn. When I was still about six feet above the floor, I let go of the rope and tumbled to the floor. When I landed, I did as Heero would and rolled across the floor a few feet. I was slightly dazed from the fall and my hands were throbbing. But none of that could compare to the joy I felt when I pictured Jericho's face.

She rushed over to me. "Oh my god, Duo! Are you okay?"

I grinned up to her. "I'm your hero, aren't I?"

She gave me a funny look, then turned to Mr. Kingsly. "I think he hit his head. He's acting like he's delirious!"

I sat up quickly, ignoring the pain in my hands. "I did better than James," I said to her, still grinning. "I beat James!"

She nodded, smiling slightly at me. "Yes Duo, you did beat James."

"So am I your hero?" I asked as she helped me up.

Her smile grew a little bit and she nodded again. "Yes Duo, you are my hero."

* * *

**SHOUT-OUT TIME!**

**Cocowinterdeathangel**: Thank you so much for all your reviews! TEN GOLD STARS? WOWWIE! You rock girl, and you (along with all my other reviewers) encourage me to keep writing and not give up on this story completely! I'll post the website for the Duo Plushie with the next chapter.

**Shia Moonflower: **Yes, I loved writing the part with the boxers and the snow. I actually took it from something my little brother did a last year. Some how he didn't realize it had snowed like a foot of snow the night before, and I was just leaving the house, and I had forgotten something, so he came barreling out of the house and into the snow in just his boxers and his t-shirt, trying to catch up with me. His face was such a Duo expression that when I remembered it, I knew I had to include it. Anyway, like Cocowinterdeathangel, you are such an encouragement.

**Ereina-chan:** Is Jericho close enough to the girl next door you suggested?.

**Koyo: **thank you for the compliments, but I'm sure there are better authors out there that have writeen better G.W. fan fics than me.

**Duo-23: **I'm happy that you can sort of identify with Jericho and Duo in this story. It's a big compliment to me to know that my characters are realistic (okay, so Duo's not my character, but the way I'm portraying him is realistic)

**CobaltBlue149: **Is the relationship between Duo and Jericho still going the way you want it to? And thank you for saying this fic rocks. I love that predicate!

**Koyishiri:** Duo's my favorite character too! He's such a cutie. And thank you for the urges to update. It really gets my butt in gear when I know people are waiting for me to update.

**Kurleyhawk2: **I like Quatre too, but sadly I had to just use him as a plot device to get Duo to wake up to his feelings for Jericho. Which led to angst, which is something I have the need to write every once in a while. Anyway, thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

**Pippy32388: **Thanks for the compliments .

I think that's everyone. If I missed anyone, please feel free to yell at me either in the review section or via e-mail.


	23. Chapter 23: Just Pretend

_**Chapter Twenty-Three: Just Pretend**_

Word got around school pretty fast that I had beaten James at climbing the rope. Even though I had to go to the nurse to get bandages put on my hands, and an icepack for my head, people still acted like I was amazing. While no one approached Jericho or me in an openly friendly manner, I noticed that fewer kids were tripping us in the halls and stuff like that. In fact, some kids went out of their way to make it easier for us to walk down the halls.

Jericho continued to treat me the way she always had: like I was a normal person and we were just friends. But I had caught her staring at me during History a few times, and I wondered if perhaps she liked me as much as I liked her. I wanted to ask her about it. I wanted to find out how she felt about me. But every time I opened my mouth to say something, Hilde's face appeared in my mind and I suddenly felt like I would be betraying her if I did anything with Jericho.

So I kept my big mouth shut, something that would have astonished the other pilots if they had known. _"Duo? Actually keeping his mouth shut? Is he sick?" _they would have asked.

And to tell the truth, I was sick. I was sick because of my long for Hilde and I was sick for my longing for Jericho.

"Why does life have to be so difficult?" I cried one day while Benny and I were walking through the snow-covered park. Benny licked my gloved hand and whimpered, nuzzling my leg with his head. Laughing, I patted his head. "Thanks Benny, but don't think I've forgiven you for calling me pathetic the other night." He wagged his tail and started down the path again, tugging me along behind him.

.0.

A few days later, Jericho and I were sitting in the kitchen playing a game of checkers while Diana baked cookies.

"Duo, have you done any Christmas shopping yet?" Diana asked, placing a plate of cookies down on the counter top next to our checkerboard.

I shook my head as I moved a piece. "No. Hadn't really thought about it. King me, again," I said, grinning over at Jericho. For as smart as that girl was, she was a really lousy checker player. She pretended to pout and placed a checker on top of the one I had just moved.

"Christmas is in less than a week, Duo!" Diana exclaimed. "I thought you said a few weeks ago that you wanted to celebrate Christmas this year."

"I do," I replied as Jericho captured one of my pieces.

"Then why haven't you gone shopping yet?"

I shrugged. "I don't have a car, and you and Jon have been pretty busy lately, so I didn't really feel right asking you to drive me across town to the mall."

Diana sighed. "Well, we're only going to be busier during the next week. Maybe I can drop you off at the mall on my way somewhere or something."

"Don't worry about it, Diana," Jericho said as I examined the board to choose my next move. "My mom says I can have the car tomorrow after church since I still have some shopping I need to do. I can swing by and pick Duo up and take him to the mall with me. OH NO!" she cried as I managed to capture all but one of her remaining pieces with one move. She looked up at me, her eyes narrowed. "Who said you could be better at this game than me?"

I grinned and stuck my tongue out at her. "Who said you could be better than me at everything else?"

Jericho pouted and said nothing.

The mall was full of people rushing around, looking for gifts to buy. It was almost a crazy mob scene in some of the toy stores and I wondered if maybe the mall was exceeding its occupancy regulations by a few thousand.

"So, who do you need to buy presents for?" Jericho asked me as we navigated through the throngs of people in one of the department stores.

"Umm, Jon and Diana…You…Heero, Quatre and Trowa…umm, I think that's it. Should I get your parent's something?" I asked, not quite sure what the etiquette of getting and giving gifts on Christmas was.

Jericho laughed. "You'd only have to get them something if we were like a couple or engages or something," she replied. "They'll probably get you something, but they're not expecting anything from you. Why aren't you getting something for WuFei?"

I grinned at her. "At the zoo a few months ago, I got him a stuffed animal. Diana never got around to taking me to the post office, so I figured I'll just send it up to space as his Christmas present."

Jericho frowned slightly. "You're sending the presents to the colonies?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding.

"Hmm…I think you should wait until after Christmas to do it," she said after a moment's thought.

"But then they wouldn't be there for Christmas!" I cried. "I might procrastinate some stuff, but I'd never procrastinate Christmas presents!"

She shook her head. "I'm sure they'd understand. Besides, if you sent them now, the postage would cost more than the gifts. Wait until after the Christmas rush when postage rates are lower, and you won't spend as much on sending them."

"But I—"

"Duo, just trust me on this, okay?" Jericho said as she stopped and whirled around, putting her hands on my shoulders. "Don't send them their gifts until after Christmas. Things will be better for everyone if you do, especially for you and your wallet." Her eyes shifted from mine to something that was behind me. Her expression of stern concern was suddenly replaced with one of absolute dread. "Oh no…" she moaned.

"What is it?" I asked, turning my head to see what she was staring at. She put her hand to my face and kept me from turning my head around.

"There's this guy that works in this store," she explained. "His name's Ed. He asks me out every time I come here. He's a nice guy but…you know. Anyway, lately I've been turning him down by saying I have a boy friend, and last time I was here, he said if he didn't see me with my boyfriend next time I came, then I'd have to go on a date with him."

I frowned. "You mean this guy likes you and is basically guilt-tripping you into going out with him?"

"Yes," she peered around me and then suddenly ducked back behind me. I was scared she might start hyperventilating with the way she was panicking. "Oh God, he saw me! We made eye contact! What am I going to—Hi Ed. I didn't realize you were working today." Jericho's voice suddenly turned from one of panic to fake-sweet and a huge, fake smile spread across her face.

I turned around and found myself standing face to face with a guy that looked to be about eighteen years old. His nametag said his name was Ed and that he worked in the electronics department. He had a mass of curly red hair on the top of his head, facial hair that needed to be groomed, and an acne problem that made his face look like a giant connect-the-dots puzzle. He was also rather chunky. I felt kind of sorry for the guy, but that only lasted until he opened his mouth.

"Hey Jericho, babe," he said, leaning against a set of shelves and causing them to shift across the floor. He was trying to act all cool, like James Dean. It wasn't working. "I'm working every day till Christmas. Gotta earn those bucks, you know. So, remember our little deal?"

Jericho nodded. "Yeah, I either bring my boyfriend to meet you, or I go out on a date with you." God, she looked like she was in pain by just being in his presence.

Ed grinned. "Well, I don't see a boyfriend, so how does seven o'clock next Friday sound? I know this great little restaurant over on the other side of town, and then we can go for a little drive." From the tone of his voice, I had a feeling I knew how the drive would end, and it was not a pleasant thought.

Jericho whimpered just loud enough that I barely heard her. "Well, gee, Ed, that, uh…that sounds real nice, but ummm…" She was trying to turn him down, but I could see it in her eyes that she didn't know how. If I didn't step in, she'd probably end up on the date and miserable. And I would end up alone at home and miserable.

"So, Friday night is good for you?" Ed asked. I realized that he was definitely not looking at Jericho's face, but at her chest. Anger boiled inside me.

"Actually, Ed," I said, stepping forward, putting my arm around Jericho's waist and pulling her close to me. "Jericho isn't gonna be in town next Friday. We're going on a little getaway. Together. Isn't that right, babe?" I finished, looking down at Jericho who had a dumbstruck look on her face. She was staring up at me like I was crazy.

"Duo, what are you talking about?" she asked, sounding worried.

I smiled down at her. "I was gonna surprise you sweetie, but it was gonna be your Christmas present to celebrate our forth month of dating." I bent down and kissed her on the head right above her ear. "Listen, just play along if you don't wanna get stuck with Ed next Friday," I whispered, forcing myself to straighten up.

Ed was frowning. I smiled at him. "I'm sorry, how stupid of me. I'm Duo Maxwell, Jericho's boyfriend. She's told me a lot about you, and it's good to finally meet you."

"Her boyfriend?" Ed asked, his face going pale.

"Yeah," I said, smiling. I looked back down to Jericho. "Hey, Jericho, why don't you go on ahead to the jewelry department and start looking at the engagement rings, okay? I'll be along in a minute."

She smiled at me with the biggest, prettiest smile I had ever seen on her face. "Sure thing, hunny," she giggled, kissing me on the cheek. She then hurried off towards a different section of the store. Ed watched her go, and I noticed he was staring at her backside the entire time. It was a nice backside, I had to admit, but that didn't mean I stared at it like it was some great show.

"She's one hot chick," Ed said, grinning at me.

I nodded. "Yep. That she is," I said, nodding. Then, in one swift movement, I grabbed his shoulder with my hand and slammed him into the shelving unit behind him. "And if I ever hear you call her that again, I will make your life a living hell. If I ever see you stare at any area of her body except her face, I will make you wish you had never been born. If I ever even get the slightest hint that you have been talking to her about anything other than TVs or stereos, I will see to it that you do not live to see your next zit-popping session. Got it?"

Even his pimples had lost all their color. "Y-yes sir," he stuttered.

"Good," I said, giving him a slight shake before letting him go. "Glad to see that you're such an easy guy to get along with, Ed. See you later."

I turned and walked away, heading in the direction Jericho had headed in. I found her in the jewelry department, which mildly surprised me. She wasn't looking at rings though. She was looking at lockets. She hadn't yet found a replacement for the one that James had ruined more than three months ago.

"Hey," I said as I walked up to her. She turned to me and threw her arms around me.

"Thank you so much Duo!" she cried, her face buried into my shoulder. "You have no idea how much you just helped me!"

Slightly shocked at Jericho's sudden physical contact, I awkwardly returned the hug. "it was no problem. It was fun psyching that guy out," I said laughing. _But it was more fun being able to put my arm around you and not have you shrug away,_ I thought. But even as I thought it, Hilde's face appeared in my mind, and my heart sank.

I let go of Jericho and pulled away from her. I walked over to the display case she had been standing at and looked down at all the lockets on display. "So, what were you looking at?" I asked her.

She pointed down at a group of lockets in the center of the case. They were larger than the rest of the lockets in the case, big enough to hold pictures of a reasonable size. I remembered the pictures from her old locket. She had told me they were of her biological parents.

"They're all so pretty!" she said, looking down at them. It was the first time I had ever seen Jericho really interested in jewelry.

"Maybe if you're good, Santa will get you one for Christmas," I said grinning at her.

She shook her head. "Nah. They're too expensive, even for Santa." She sighed and turned away from the case. "Besides, my last locket was the third locket Mom and Dad have gotten me. Every time they get me one, it gets ruined by James or lost within a year. They said they're not gonna get me another locket for a long time. And when they say something like that, they mean it."

I frowned and looked from Jericho to the display case and back to her. She looked so sad.

"Com'n Duo. I think I know what you can get Diana for Christmas."

.0.

The next day in school, my thoughts were still on Christmas presents. Jericho had helped me find a really nice chocolate-making kit for Diana, and a boxed set of old black-and-white movies for Jon. I got Trowa a denim jacket since Catherine had said his jacket was getting rather worn. With Jericho's help, I found Quatre a book of violin music, and a book about sword fighting for WuFei. I had been planning on just giving WuFei the stuffed animal, but Jericho had insisted that I needed to get him something else for him too.

I still hadn't found anything for Heero, but I figured that when I went to buy something for Jericho, I would find something for him.

Jericho was late for lunch that day. She had mentioned having a test in French class, and I figured she was just taking extra time on the test. I was so busy with my thoughts about what to get her and Heero that I didn't notice that someone had sat down at the table until they cleared their throat.

I looked up and rolled my eyes in exasperation. "What do you want James?" I asked, annoyed. He was the last person I wanted to see at the moment.

"Why didn't you and Jericho tell us the good news?" he asked, picking up a cookie from my tray and inspecting it.

"What good news?" I asked, eying him reproachfully. I wanted my cookie back.

"Oh, you know, the good news." He shrugged. "Well, I guess you guys just weren't sure how to tell people yet."

"Tell people what?"

"Oh, you know what I'm talking about." He looked up at me smugly, knowing full well that I had no clue. He grinned. "Com'n Duo, what's the deal? Kristen said she saw you and Jericho at the mall yesterday, and you were all over each other. She heard you talking about some sort of little getaway you guys are taking this weekend. And then she said you guys went off to the jewelry department to look at engagement rings."

A light went off in my head. James thought Jericho and I were a couple. "Hate to tell you this, James old buddy," I replied, making sure I sounded extra sarcastic on the 'buddy' part. "But Jericho and I are just friends. No engagement. No getaway. Just me and her, hangin' out and kickin' back like most friends do."

James frowned. "Are you saying Kristen's a liar?"

I shook my head. "Nah, she was telling the truth, but the thing is, we were just pretending. There was this guy that was making Jericho uncomfortable, and I figured I'd mess with him a little. You know, to make him leave her alone. Now, can I have my cookie back?"

James snorted and allowed the cookie fall from his hand. It fell to the ground and broke apart. "Whoops, my bad," he said, shaking his head. His eyes fell on something behind me for a moment, then they turned back to me. "So, there's nothing going on between you and Jericho? You're just friends?"

"Yeah," I replied, getting bored with the conversation.

"You mean, all that stuff you said to her at the mall and the little kisses and all that sweet boyfriend crap, that was all just an act to keep the guy away from her. There wasn't any underlying feelings with it?" he pressed.

_Yeah, like I'd tell him that there are,_ I thought to myself as I said aloud, "Right. Nothing at all. We're just friends. Everything Kristen saw at the mall was an act. Just pretend."

James smirked at me, his eyes shifting once again to something behind me. "That's all I wanted to hear." He stood up and walked away, whistling as he made his way back across the cafeteria to his table.

I watched him go, my eyes narrowing. If still had had Deathscythe, I would have been tempted to cut class and go stomp on his house. The nerve of that guy, trying to pry into my life.

Jericho sat down at the table suddenly, like she had come out of nowhere. She had a funny look on her face like she was about to cry.

"Hey," I said, smiling. "What's wrong?"

She scowled and didn't answer. She pulled her French book out of her bag and slammed it down onto the table with a bang that made me jump. She flipped through the pages, slapped her notebook down on the table and started doing homework.

"How was the French test?" I asked.

"It was fine," she replied, her face growing calm again.

"Is something the matter?" I asked.

She looked up at me with a funny look on her face, almost as though she wasn't sure what she was feeling. She shook her head and when she looked back at me. "Nothing. I guess I'm just a little stressed about stuff at the moment. No big deal. When do you wanna come over and start assembling the model?" she asked me. "The science fair is in less than a month you know."

Sighing, I leaned back in my chair. "Yeah and Christmas is in five days. Since when did life become so complicated?"

She laughed. "Don't talk to me about complications." She pulled a flyer out of her notebook and handed it to me. "This thing, along with Christmas dinner at my house, and two art competitions, is making my winter vacation packed."

_**Central High School **_  
_**NEW YEAR'S EVE MASQUERADE BALL**_  
"_**Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow"**_  
_**December 31, AC197 8:00pm - 12:30am**_  
_**Tickets: 15 dollars/person, 25 dollars/couple**_  
_**Costumes and Masks are required for admission**_  
_**Ring in the New Year with a night of dancing, mystery, and romance**_  
_This year's masquerade harks back to the time of Shakespeare, and we will  
__be enjoying old-fashioned dances along with modern music.  
__**There will be a contest for the best costumes, and we will have  
**__**a special judge present for the costume contest**_

"You have got to be kidding me," I said, staring at the paper. "A Masquerade ball?" I looked up at Jericho and I knew that there was no way I would be able to get out of going with her. "Where are we going to get the costumes?" I asked.

She grinned. "I'm gonna be making them."

"How am I supposed to know how to dance those old dances?" I wondered as I took a bite of my sandwich. "I don't even know how to dance modern dances."

Jericho smiled at me. "Same way I do. Smile, laugh, and act like it's the easiest thing in the world. Just pretend. You can pretend, right?"

I nodded. _Yeah, I'm pretending that I just want you as a friend. How long can I lie to myself? _I thought.

"Right," I said, looking up her. "Just pretend. No problem."


	24. Chapter 24: Presents

_**Disclaimer:**_Don't own Gundam Wing or any affliated characters. You know that (...only 6 more weeks till My Duo Plushie gets here!)

**_A/N_** OMG, I HATE SCHOOL! I'm so sorry I haven't updated for so long! from now on I'll be posting every Tuesday. I PROMISE! If I don't, you all can flame me as much as you want!

This chapter is sort of just filler, and plot device, but oh well. I wrote a paper in 3 hours today, so I think I deserve a break.

On with the story...

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_**Chapter 24: Presents**_

The next day was the twenty-second, and the last day of school before winter break. After school let out that day, I went straight home. When Diana got home from work, she was going to take me to the mall.

In my room, I sat on my bed and looked at all the presents I had gotten people. I had bought a stuffed cat for Jericho. She loved cats, but since Megan was allergic to them, she couldn't have one of her own. I had chosen this one because when you hugged it, it would meow, and if you petted its head, it would purr. It was like a real cat, minus the claws, and the shedding fur, and the hairballs, and the litter box.

But I still wasn't satisfied with the stuffed animal as a present for Jericho. It just didn't seem to convey my feelings enough. What I really wanted to get her was one of those lockets she had been looking at in the store. But the least expensive of those had been over a hundred dollars. I still had plenty of cash, but not enough to get both a locket for Jericho and a present for Heero.

Sighing, I fell back onto my pillow. I still had no clue what to get Heero. Why was Christmas so stressful? I felt so pressured to get everyone the perfect gift. _But what's the perfect gift for a former perfect soldier?_

Thinking about Heero reminded me of something. Right after Hilde's death, Heero took charge of the finances of the junkyard since I was constantly having flashbacks and nervous attacks, so I couldn't really handle doing anything for myself. After Lady Une reported me to the government, the financial assets from the junkyard had been placed in an account for me. Sally had been given the authority to control the account until I turned eighteen. I knew that there were several thousand dollars in that account. Glancing at the clock, I did some math in my head. It was the middle of the day up in the L2 colony where Sally was.

I picked up the phone and dialed the long string of numbers that would connect me to Sally. I felt sort of bad about calling the colonies because they were expensive calls, and the Christophers had to pay for them.

Finally, Sally answered at the other end of the line. "L2 defense department, Preventer Sally Po speaking. How may I help you?"

"Hey Sally, it's Duo," I said.

"Duo! Hi! What's up! It's been a while since we've talked."

"Yeah," I agreed. "And I'm really sorry, but I can't talk long. This is a really expensive call. I need you to do something for me."

"Sure, Duo, anything."

"Good," I said nodding, even though she couldn't see it. "I need you to transfer some money from the junkyard account into my bank account. Not a whole lot. A hundred bucks should do it. I need it to buy some Christmas presents."

I could almost hear her frown over the phone. "Duo, that money is supposed to be saved for when you need it."

"But I do need it Sally!" I cried. "Com'n. A hundred bucks. That's not that much!"

"Then I'd love to see what you consider 'much' money. Besides, the way the account's set up, I need to submit a written request forty-eight hours in advance. Even if the withdrawal were approved, you wouldn't get it until this time Christmas Eve. Sorry Duo. I guess you'll have to figure out some way else."

I scowled. "Fine," I growled into the phone. "Thanks anyway."

I turned off the phone and flung it onto my bed. God, it was just not my day. First James bashed me in the shin with a hockey stick, and now I didn't have enough money for presents.

"Who was that?"

I turned to find Diana leaning in the doorway. She was still dressed in her work clothes: a skirt, blouse, and black shoes. I guessed she must have just gotten home.

"Sally," I replied. When she gave me a questioning look, I sighed and shook my head, slightly perturbed. "I wanted her to transfer some money for me so that I could afford a few more Christmas presents, but she said she couldn't."

Diana made a funny sound in her throat, kind of like the hum those Zen-and-yoga obsessed people make when they're meditating. "I'm gonna go change and then we can go to the mall. Sound good?"

I shrugged. "Whatever." I was too depressed about my financial situation to really care about anything.

"No, not _whatever_ Duo," she said, sounding stern. "I know you care about this, so stop acting apathetic. You either want to go to the mall or you don't. It's not healthy for you to go into the 'I don't know, I don't care' mode every time you're upset about something. When you do that, no one knows how to help you." Her face softened and she stepped towards me. "You've come a long way from how you were when you first got here Duo, but you still have a ways to go. Jon and I want to help you, but you need to help us help you, okay?" she said, holding out her arms to me.

I accepted her invitation and welcomed her hug. She stroked the back of my head while I my face was pressed against her shoulder. Even though she wasn't my real mother, there were times when she seemed to fall into that role so perfectly. This was on of those times. "Duo, you're a special kid. You're stronger than any person I know. But the thing is, sometimes the greatest show of strength is being able to let others see your weaknesses. Don't hide behind apathy anymore, okay?"

"Okay," I nodded into her shoulder. It felt so good to be held. I almost started to cry when she let go.

"Now, do you want to go to the mall, or not?" she asked me.

"Yeah," I said. "I still need to get a few presents."

She smiled. "Good." She handed me the car keys. "Why don't you go start the car while I go change? I'll be down in a few minutes."

I went out to the car and started it up. I listened to the hum of the motor, and it reminded me of Deathscythe. I sighed. I wished I still had my Gundam.

I climbed over into the passenger seat and buckled myself in. Leaning my head back against the seat, I closed my eyes. I still had no way to get the locket for Jericho. But maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. Every time I thought about Jericho, my thoughts tended to turn to Hilde. Perhaps by not letting me have the money, God was telling me that I was forgetting Hilde too quickly. And if I forgot Hilde, then who would remember her?

Diana opened the door and got into the driver's seat. She smiled at me, but her look turned to a frown when she saw the look on my face.

"Cheer up, Duo," she said as she reached into her purse. "Here." She pulled some folded bills out and handed them to me.

I stared down at the money she had handed to me, counting it. One hundred dollars. I looked up at her, confused. "What's this for?" I asked her.

Diana smiled at me. "I thought I'd help you buy those presents."

I shook my head. "No, I can't take this, Diana," I said. "Really, thanks, but I can't."

She ignored the offered money. Instead, she put to car in gear and backed out of the driveway. "Think of it as an early Christmas present, Duo," she said. "It's a gift from me to you. It's rude to try to give back gifts."

I stared at her for a moment, then smiled. "Thanks," I said. I looked down at the money in my hand. "Now I have enough money to buy Jericho that locket."

Diana grinned and glanced over at me. "So, you've finally realized that you like her, huh?" she asked.

I sighed and looked out the window. "Yeah, I have."

"Then why so down? The first time I realized I liked Jon as more than a friend, I was bouncing off the walls. You seem like that kind of person that should be bouncing off the walls too."

Frowning, I didn't reply for a while, not knowing exactly how to explain it. Finally, after a few minutes of thinking, I mumbled a name: "Hilde."

Diana just nodded. "I know it's still hard Duo, moving on after what happened. I know you miss Hilde, and you have the right to mourn her—"

"Don't say that word," I snapped, sounding a lot more forceful than I meant to. God, I hated that word. _Mourn, mourning_. Those words made it seem so formal and…cold. But what I was feeling wasn't cold. It was hot, burning in me, sometimes coming close to consuming my soul. It was always under the surface, waiting to show itself. It had shown itself a few times, and it hadn't been pretty.

Diana paused, then started again. "You have the right to miss her for as long as you want. But from everything you've told me, it sounds like Hilde only wanted the best for you. I'm sure that she would much rather for you to move on and be happy instead of spending the rest of your life dwelling on her." I didn't reply, but I knew deep down that Diana was right. "Anyway, you should talk to Jericho about this kind of thing. She knows a thing or two about moving on."

"What do you mean?" I asked as the car pulled into a parking space in the mall parking lot.

Diana just shrugged. "You'll have to ask Jericho. It's not really my place to say."

_God, I hate it when adults say stuff like that,_ I thought.

.0.

I headed straight to the department stores where Jericho had been looking at the lockets. The lockets were still all in the case, shining beautifully.

"May I help you?" one of the sales women asked me.

"Um, not yet," I said. "Give me a minute or two."

Jericho wanted a large-ish locket, one that she could put her pictures in. Most of the lockets were really small. And most of them had really flimsy-looking chains.

I finally settled on an oval locket with a thick, but still pretty chain. On the front of the locket, a phrase was etched. "Aimez jusqu'à l'éternité." I didn't know a word of French, but Jericho did. In fact, she was practically fluent in it. I bought the locket, and even though it set me back a little more than I had planned, it was worth it. Besides, Heero had never really liked extravagant presents anyway.

In fact, I wasn't sure if Heero liked any kind of presents at all.

I wandered through the mall, looking for something to get Heero. Books didn't seem his thing, and I was sure he had everything he could ever want as far as computers went. _I could get him a movie or a CD,_ I thought as I browsed through a media store. _But I bet he'd just loan it to Relena and never ask for it back._

After an hour of searching, I had almost given up. Heero wasn't human, and I doubted if he ever realized that Christmas was coming.

I sat down on the edge of a planter to rest and sighed. "If I don't find something soon, I'm giving up and sending Heero a stocking full of coal," I grumbled to myself.

I people-watched for a while, trying to get my mind off a present for Heero. A few stores up from where I was sitting, a family came out of a store. It was a mom, a dad, and two little kids. The dad was carrying the little girl in his arms and she was talking very quickly, waving her arms and laughing. Her father was smiling at her like she was the only thing in the world for him. The little boy was carrying a shopping bag in one hand and holding his mom's hand with the other. He looked a lot like I had when I was a little kid. I watched the happy family as the walked off into the crowds, the little boy and girl shouting happily about going to see Santa.

_I wanna go see Santa too!_ I thought as I stood up and began to walk in the same direction that family had gone. As I passed the store they had come out of, I stopped and looked in the windows. It was a store that sold only snow globes. _Would Heero like a snow globe?_ Figuring I had nothing left to loose, I went in to look around.

I had never seen so many snow globes in such a small space. I browsed through the shop, not really expecting to find anything. Most of the snow globes were cutesy and stupid looking, but as I made my way to the back of the store, I found a display of snow globes that played music. One caught my eye. Inside the globe were a girl that looked a lot like Relena and a young boy in a kilt that looked a lot like Heero standing on a green hill holding hands. The boy had a gun over his shoulder and looked like he was about to go off to war, and the girl looked really sad. I picked it up and turned the knob at the side to hear the song it played. The music sounded familiar, like I had heard it somewhere, but I couldn't place it.

_Maybe Jericho will know what it is,_ I thought.

Looking down at the snow globe, I knew it was something Heero would like. It seemed kind of strange, getting him a snow globe since he wasn't really a snow globe kind of guy. But then, what kind of guy was Heero? I still had my doubts about him even being human.

Shrugging, I figured I'd just keep the receipt and if he hated it, he could return it and use the money for something else.

.0.

"You got Heero a snow globe?" Jericho asked me later that evening. She was lying on her stomach on my bed, reading a book while I wrapped presents. Diana had helped me wrap Jericho's presents after we had gotten home.

"Yeah," I replied. "I wasn't sure what else to get him."

She laughed and picked up the box the snow globe was in and pulled the globe out. "It plays music?" she asked, eyeing the turnkey at the side.

"Yep. But I don't know what song it is. You think you could tell me?"

She raised an eyebrow and turned the key. She listened to the music play for a few moments. "O Danny Boy," she said after a moment. "It's a song about a guy going off to war, I think. Kind of fitting for an ex-Gundam Pilot."

I smiled and took it from her and put it back in the box.

"Hey, Duo, do you wanna go to the Christmas Eve service at my church with me and my parents?" Jericho asked me as I wrapped Heero's present.

I frowned. I hadn't been to a church service since the Maxwell Church had been destroyed. "I dunno…"

"Please Duo?" Jericho asked, rolling off the bed and kneeling beside me. "It's gonna be a candlelit service. I think you'd like it."

I looked up at her, into those big eyes, and I knew there was no way for me to refuse. "Okay," I said with a nod.

"Yay!" Jericho threw her arms around my neck

_If all I had to do to get her to hug me was go to church, I should of started going a long time ago,_ I thought with a grin.

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Please review! 


	25. Chapter 25: Christmas Eve

_**Chapter Twenty-Five: Christmas Eve**_

"Duo! Hurry up! The Van Burens will be here any minute!" Jon's voice echoed up the stairwell and into the bathroom. I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, fixing my hair. It hung in it's normal braid down my back, but for some reason one of my bangs just didn't want to do what I wanted it to. The more I tried wetting it down and putting gel in it, the wilder it behaved.

"Oh Duo, you look great!" Diana said as she came to the doorway to watch me. "That sweater looks great on you!" She was talking about a red sweater with a black strip across the chest. It was something Hilde had bought for me, but I had never worn it since it was too nice for me to wear while working at the junkyard.

Diana watched me for a few moments as I continued to fuss with my one stubborn bang. Then, when I had almost given up out of frustration, she walked over, picked up a comb, got it wet, and then ran it through the section of hair. Immediately, the bang shifted position and fell exactly where and how I wanted it to.

My jaw dropped. "How did you do that?" I cried, looking from Diana to the mirror and back again with a look of shock on my face.

She smiled at me. "Just something you pick up after many years for doing your own hair." The doorbell sounded and she smiled at me. "I bet that's the Van Burens. Go on now, you don't want to make them late."

I went downstairs and opened the door. Jericho was standing there wearing a black skirt with sliver snowflakes on it and an emerald green satin top that looked really great on her. She was wearing her hair down and had curled it a little around her face, giving her an angelic look. She was holding a large cookie tin

"Hey Jericho," I said, grinning at her. "Lemme get my coat and shoes. Sorry I'm running a little late."

"Oh, no rush," she replied as she stepped inside.

Diana came down the stairs as I pulled on my nice shoes. "Jericho, you look wonderful," she beamed. "I love that shirt."

Jericho grinned and held the tin out to Diana. "Here's some cookies my mom and I made this afternoon. My mom thought they'd be a good breakfast tomorrow."

I looked up, confused. "Aren't we gonna have waffles and ice cream for breakfast tomorrow?" I asked, looking up at Diana, slightly confused.

My foster mother smiled down at me. "Yeah, we are. Jon just tends to get up early on Christmas, so he'll have these to tide him over until we're ready for breakfast."

"Oh," I said, shrugging and I turned back to tying my shoes. I heard Jericho giggle, but she had a tendency to laugh at anything I did, depending on her mood.

"Well, I have to get back to my own baking. Tell your mom that we'll be at yoru house tomorrow around noon for dinner, okay Jericho? Have fun at church kids," Diana said, disappearing into the kitchen.

I stood up, and Jericho suddenly pouted. "I don't like it when you wear those shoes," she said.

Surprised, I looked down at my feet. I was wearing a pair of khakis and my red sweater, and I had thought my shoes matched. "What, do they not go with what I'm wearing?" I asked, slightly panicked. I had spent a good hour trying to find an outfit to wear to church. I had wanted to look really good just for Jericho.

Jericho laughed again. She was in a good mood tonight. "No, silly," she replied. "Those shoes make you even taller. I feel short when you wear them."

"That's 'cause you _are_ short, Jericho." I grinned at her and when she pouted again, I laughed.

.0.

Jericho and her family went to a protestant church (1) about ten blocks from their house. I knew Jericho went faithfully every Sunday, but her parents didn't go as often as she did. She explained to me that her biological parents always took her to church when she was little, so it was important to Jericho to continue to go. "It's sort of like keeping their memory alive, I guess," she had said with a shrug and a smile.

The church was old, made of stone with architecture that harked back to the gothic cathedrals. It seemed strange, since I was only used to the more modern looking churches that were on the colonies. Even the Maxwell Church had been built as a simply as possible so that it could be converted to another type of building such as a house or a business without much problem. The thing with the buildings on a space colony was that once they were there, they were there. There was no room to build new facilities, and tearing down a building and putting up a new one was too expensive. So all the buildings on colonies were built with the idea in mind that they would have to be easy to convert to a different use.

The alter of Jericho's church was very similar to the alter that had been in the Maxwell church except that the Virgin Mary was nowhere to be seen. Everywhere there were candles burning, and the organ was playing quietly. Jericho led me down a side aisle and motioned for me to sit. I sat right at the end of the pew with Jericho on my right, and her parents sat down on her other side.

The service hadn't started yet, and there were people milling around. People walked around and talked with everyone else, but very few came over to Jericho and her family. In fact, most were sending strange glances our way. I noticed that a lot of kids from school were among the other parishioners, included Jeff, Brian, and Kristin.

The organ music grew louder and everyone moved to their seats.

Jericho had to basically lead me by the hand through the service. I hadn't been in church since I was eight, and during that time I usually just sat drawing pictures on the church bulletin. Jericho's church involved a lot of standing up, saying something out loud, sitting down, silent moments of prayer, and then standing up again to sing a hymn or two. The dim candlelight lit the entire church with a soft light, and the sounds of the organ and the congregation singing were awe inspiring, but it didn't feel right for me to be there.

The longer I was in that church, the greater the threat of a flash back grew. I didn't understand why, but all the talk of peace on earth and good will to men and a Savior for the world was making me edgy. The war was over, but where was my peace? If everything was supposed to be so good between men, then why was Jericho treated so horribly in school? And if there was a Savior, had I missed the rescue boat? If God was so good, why was I still suffering?

I tried to push the thoughts out of my head, but the more I tried, the more I felt a flash back coming on. The last thing I needed was to go into a fit in the middle of a Christmas Eve service.

During the next hymn, I leaned over so that my lips were barely an inch from Jericho's ear. Her hair smelled like vanilla again. "I have to leave," I told her. "I think I'm just gonna walk home."

She turned to me, a worried look on her face. "Are you okay?" she whispered back.

I shrugged, stepped out of the pew and went down the side aisle. I got my coat from the coatroom and walked out of the church into the night. I took a deep breath of the cold air and looked around. It was a dark, clear night with no moon. A perfect night for me to walk and think.

I started down the street, heading for home. A moment later, the sound of a door opening and closing made me stop and turn. Jericho was following me, pulling on her coat as she hurried down the sidewalk towards me. She was frowning and I knew she was worrying about me.

I stopped and waited for her without her asking. From the look on her face, I knew she would have come with me even if I told her not to.

"Hey," she said, stuffing her hands into her pockets. She hadn't brought her gloves with her. "Where are you going?"

"Home," I replied. "Aren't your parents wondering where you are?"

She shrugged. "I told them we were going for a walk, and we'd probably end up at your house. Mom told me to call if I decide to stay out too late."

"But it's Christmas Eve," I said. "You should be with your family."

She smiled at me. "I should be with whom ever I think I should be. And right now, that's you."

I nodded and we kept walking down the street. We walked in silence for a long while, looking around at the decorated houses and the snow covered trees and bushes. I knew Jericho wanted to talk to me, but she was waiting for a good place to talk.

After a while, we reached the park a few blocks up from Jericho's house. It was shorter to cut across the park than it was to go around, so we went through the gate and started down the path through the park. As we passed the playground, Jericho suddenly grabbed my wrist. Surprised, I stopped and looked down at her, wondering what she wanted.

"Com'n, Duo," she said smiling a little. "Let's go swing."

I opened my mouth to point out how cold it was and that we should probably get inside, but she was dragging me over to the swings before I could say anything. We wiped off the swing seats and sat down.

"So, what's up?" Jericho asked. "You're not the kind of guy that would walk out of a church service without a good reason."

"What about you? You're not that kind of girl either."

"I asked first," she said, sticking her tongue out at me.

I sighed and shook my head. "I dunno. I guess I'm not really into this whole 'God is so amazing thing' with Christmas. There's just so much that has happened to me that makes me so…" I groped for the right word, but there wasn't one. I twisted the swing around, frowning down at my feet.

"Frustrated," she supplied. It wasn't a suggestion. She said it like it was a fact, like she knew exactly what I felt. "You don't understand how he could be so loving and all that jazz if all you've ever felt has been pain and suffering. Being happy on Christmas just doesn't make sense when you look at life and the hellhole it is."

I looked up at Jericho, shocked. I had never heard her swear before, and here she was swearing in a conversation about God. But what shocked me more was that what she had said had been exactly what I had been feeling.

She smiled sadly at me when she saw my surprised look. "Stuff gets to me too, Duo. All this stuff with James and everyone, sometimes I just want to curl up in a little hole and die. You were right when you told me a few weeks ago that I hide in my books and I don't want to face the world. I guess putting all my energy into studying kind of shoves my social problems onto the back burner."

"I didn't mean it when I said it," I insisted. "I was just upset."

"You're always upset," Jericho replied. It wasn't mean, it wasn't rude. She was stating the truth, and I knew it. There had rarely been a time since Hilde had died when I wasn't upset. I had thought I had done a good job of hiding it, but Jericho had seen right through me. So had Heero and Diana.

"Yeah, I know," I said, running my hand through my hair. "I just wish things had gone differently."

"Me too," Jericho said nodding. I knew she was watching me play with my bangs. The piece that Diana had managed to tame was wild again, and I was trying to get it back into place. She sighed. "I used to hate Christmas."

I looked up at her, confused. She smiled bitterly and looked out across the snow-covered park. "I really hated Christmas. After my parents died, I didn't want anything to do with it. I wasn't really mad at God. There's no real point in being angry with the guy who controls the universe. He does what He wants, and you can't really change His mind. He knows what He's doing, so what the point in even trying, you know? But I hated Christmas with a passion. I hated seeing all the other kids celebrating with their family, and I was stuck in foster homes where no one knew what I was going through. I refused to celebrate Christmas with anyone. I felt like I was betraying my parents if I did."

"Well, you celebrate now," I pointed out. "What changed?"

Jericho shrugged. "I got sick of being depressed. I needed to move on. Around that same time, I was moved to the Christophers' and I met Megan and David. Megan had just had a bad miscarriage. Real bad. She can't have any more kids. So, they were looking for someone to be their kid, and I was looking for people to be my parents. I guess God works in mysterious ways. When the Van Burens offered to adopt me, I was sure what I wanted. But then I realized that Just cause they were going to be my new parents didn't mean they were going to replace my biological parents. No one could do that. What they could do, though, is pick up where my real parents left off. Kind of carry on, make sure I was happy and taken care of." She suddenly reached over and brushed the lock of hair that was giving me problems out of my face. Her hand rested on the side of my head, over my ear. "Duo, you'll never forget Hilde. But you can't stay stuck on her. You still have a lot to live for. No one could replace her. I don't think anyone would want to. But there are those of us who wouldn't mind picking up where she left off and make sure you're always happy. Understand?"

I stared at her, and the rest of the world melted away. All that I was aware of was her sitting so close to me, her hand resting on my head, her big eyes full of concern and hope for me. And something clicked in me. Jericho was right, and Diana had been right a few days before. Hilde wouldn't want me to pine after her till I was old and gray. She would have wanted me to move on.

…_there are those of us who wouldn't mind picking up where she left off and make sure you're always happy…_Jericho's words were echoing in my brain. Was she talking about people in general? Or had she been talking about herself?

"Yeah Jericho, I understand. Thanks," I said, smiling a genuine smile at her.

"No problem Duo." She let her hand fall from my head and stood up. "Com'n. Let's go. I'm freezing."

I nodded and got up too.

We walked back to my house, talking and laughing. It was amazing how easily we could slide from a serious conversation into a regular one. Half way to my house, Jericho tossed a snowball at me, and we spent the rest of the walk back in a huge snowball fight that didn't end until we reached the front door.

"Diana! Jon! I'm home!" I called as we entered the house. Diana appeared in the doorway of the front room, a glass of wine in her hand.

"Hey kids," she said, smiling. "You're back early."

"We were getting antsy, so we went for a walk," I explained.

"I see. What are you planning on doing now?"

I shrugged and looked to Jericho. "Wanna watch a movie?"

"Sure," Jericho shrugged back.

Diana smiled and sipped her wine. "Jon brought home some pretty cool movies he thought you'd like," she said to me. "They're up in the TV room." She glanced at the clock on the wall of the front room. "It's almost nine o'clock, Jericho. Do your parents know where you are?"

Jericho nodded and followed me as I headed up the stairs. "Yeah. They said I could stay as long as I want."

"Okay. Have fun. I'll bring up a snack in a bit."

We went upstairs to the TV room. On top of the TV were three movies. Jericho picked them up and looked at them.

"Cool!" She said, grinning. "The original _Star Wars_ Trilogy! Have you ever seen them, Duo?"

I shook my head as I unfolded the futon. Jericho liked to lie down when she watched movies. "Nope. I've heard of them though."

"We have to watch all of them tonight then," Jericho decided, putting in the first video.

For a movie made before computer graphics, _Star Wars _was really good. I liked the actions scenes, and Darth Vader had to have been the coolest villain I had ever seen.

Jericho and I lay side-by-side on the futon, pillows under our chests and chins on our arms. I noticed that towards the end of the first movie, Jericho was yawning. We put in the second movie immediately when the first one was done. I kept looking over at Jericho whose eyelids were starting to droop. Then, when I looked at her about half way through the second movie, she was fast asleep. I didn't blame her. It was almost midnight, and I was pretty exhausted too. I was starting to yawn a lot, too.

The movie was still going, but I put my head down on my pillow and watched Jericho sleep. She looked so peaceful and beautiful, and I couldn't resist reaching out and brushing some of her hair out of my face. Jericho's eyes opened slightly at my touch and she smiled sleepily at me. I had a feeling she wasn't really awake, but I smiled back at her anyway. Then she did something that surprised me. She moved over so that she was right next to me, her head cuddled into my shoulder. She then closed her eyes and fell right back asleep.

I laid there for a few minutes, reveling in her being so close to me. Then, between how warm and comfortable I was, and how tired I was, my eyes began to drift shut, and soon I was sound asleep.

I woke up briefly in the middle of the night to Diana talking on the phone. "…They're asleep right now. You should see them, Megan. They're all cuddled up to each other. They remind me of a couple of puppies…No, it's no trouble. Jericho will be happy to be here in the morning anyway…. Yeah, Jon can drive her home tomorrow…okay. Good night, Megan. Merry Christmas."

Diana came into the room, and I pretended to be asleep. She put a quilt over Jericho and me. "Sweet dreams you two," she whispered as she turned off the light and left the room.

I smiled and snuggled closer to Jericho, gingerly draping my arm over her waist. And when I fell back asleep, I did dream sweet dreams.

(1) Protestant churches—most people know this already, but a protestant church is any church that is not Roman Catholic (the type of church Duo was raised in) or Greek Orthodox. I modeled Jericho's church after a Lutheran church my friend goes to. I thought it would be neat if Duo got experience at a non-Catholic church.


End file.
